LT^ 


A3 


V, 


SEMI-CENTENNIAL  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 
VOLUME  I 


Semi-Centennial  History  of  the  University  of  Illinois 

VOLUME  I 

XWino'is.   Un'v 
The  Movement  for  Industrial  Education 

AND  THE 

Establishment  of  the  University 
1840-1870 


By 

BURT  E.POWELL,  Ph.D. 

UNIVERSITY  HISTORIAN 
With  an  Introduction  by 

EDMUND   J.JAMES,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

FOURTH    PRESIDENT  of   the    UNIVERSITY 


PUBLISHED  by  the  UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 
URBANA.    1918 


Printed  and  Bound 

by 

Fantagraph  Printing  <£•  Stationery  Company 

Bloomington,  Illinois 


PREFACE 


For  many  years  the  need  of  a  history  of  the  University  of 
Illinois  was  very  apparent.  One  by  one  the  men  who  had  a 
part  in  the  founding  and  organization  of  the  institution  were 
passing  away.  With  each  succeeding  year  it  was  becoming 
more  difficult  to  obtain  the  important  facts  and  interpret  them, 
and  still  more  difficult  properly  to  appreciate  the  spirit  in  which 
the  early  work  of  the  founders  had  been  accomplished.  On  being 
commissioned  by  the  trustees  to  write  the  first  detailed  history 
of  the  university  it  seemed  important  that  I  should  strive  for 
completeness  of  detail  even  at  the  risk  of  being  tiresome,  and 
for  accuracy  though  it  might  lead  to  recounting  events  of  an 
unpleasant  nature.  If  there  are  failures  in  these  respects,  they 
are  due  to  lack  of  evidence  or  knowledge,  or  possibly  to  accident, 
certainly  not  to  any  lack  of  purpose. 

It  will  be  a  matter  of  considerable  surprise  even  to  those 
'associated  with  the  university,  to  learn  of  the  sixteen  years  of 
struggle  pre\dous  to  the  establishment  of  this  institution;  first, 
for  the  whole  system  of  industrial  universities  throughout  the 
nation,  and,  second,  for  the  founding  of  an  industrial  university 
in  Illinois. 

The  material  for  this  account  has  been  obtained  chiefly  from 
the  widely  scattered  correspondence  of  Jonathan  B.  Turner  and 
his  associates,  from  articles  in  the  newspapers  and  the  agri- 
cultural press  of  the  times,  and  from  official  reports,  bills,  and 
laws.  Almost  nothing  has  been  written  upon  this  industrial 
educational  movement  in  Illinois.  I  wish  to  acknowledge  my 
great  indebtedness,  however,  to  the  valuable  articles  of  William 
L.  Pillsbury  in  the  Illinois  School  Reports.  For  the  subjects 
covered  I  have  found  those  articles  remarkably  complete  and 
invariably  correct.  The  little  volume,  "The  Origin  of  the  Land 
Grant  Act,"  by  President  James  has  been  specially  helpful  for 
it  opened  up  a  new  field  and  pointed  the  Avay  for  profitable 
investigation. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  I  am  greatly  indebted  to 
the  constant  help  and  advice  of  President  Edmund  J.  James. 
From  William  L.  Pillsbury  I  have  received  invaluable  aid  in 
the  way  of  constructive  criticism  aiid  suggestions,  particularly 
upon  the  early  period  of  the  work  of  the  Illinois  men.  My  thanks 
are  due  to  Clarence  W.  Alvord  for  suggestions  on  methods  of 
treatment,  to  Clara  Mabel  Smith  of  the  school  of  education  for 
assistance  in  collecting  and  arranging  material  for  some  of  the 
chapters,  to  Charles  Wesley  Rolfe  for  reading  chapters  and  for 
his  ever  ready  willingness  to  inform  me  of  early  events ;  to  Mrs. 
John  M.  Gregory,  to  James  B.  Murray  of  New  York  city,  to 
Mrs.  Mary  Turner  Carriel  of  Jacksonville,  to  Mrs.  Joseph 
Carter,  and  to  many  others  who  have  furnished  me  letters,  manu- 
scripts and  photographs,  and  to  Daniel  K.  Dodge  of  the  depart- 
ment of  English  for  valuable  service  in  reading  the  proof  of  the 
entire  volume.  To  former  Judge  J.  O.  Cunningham  and  to 
Thomas  J.  Burrill,  both  of  whom  have  died  since  this  volume 
was  begun,  I  have  occasion  for  deep  gratitude  for  the  pleasure 
and  profit  of  several  long  conversations,  shortly  before  their 
deaths,  in  regard  to  the  men  and  the  work  of  the  early  years 
of  the  institution. 

Urbana,  Illinois  Burt  E.  Po\vell 

April  15,  1918 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Documentary  Sources  ix 

List  of  Illustrations x 

Introduction    xi 

I     The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle 1 

II     The  Illinois  Plan  for  a  System  of  Land  Grant  Col- 
leges        14 

III  The  Activity  of  the  Industrial  League 58 

IV  Illinois  Plan  before  Congress 92 

V     Final  Period  of  the  Land  Grant  Proposition 115 

VI     The  Men  Who  Led 128 

VII     Seminary  and  College  Funds  and  the  Various  At- 
tempts to   Establish  an  Agricultural   College  or 

State  University 156 

VIII     Illinois  Accepts  the  Donation  of  Congress  and  Con- 
siders its  Disposition,  1862-1865 178 

IX    Preparation  for  the  Final  Struggle  for  the  Loca- 
tion of  the  Industrial  University 211 

X     Contest  in  Legislature  of  1867  :  University  Located .  241 
XI     The    Illinois    Industrial    University    Organizes    for 

Work    272 

XII     The  First  Two  Years  of  University  Work 308 

XIII     First  Board  of  Trustees  and  the  First  Faculty 338 

Appendix   357 

Document  No,     1     Letter — Turner    to    Blanch- 

ard   357 

Document  No.     2     Industrial    Universities    for 

the  People 365 

Document  No.     3     John  Evan's  Plan 427 

Document  No.     4    Letter — Lumsden  to  Turner  430 
Document  No.     5     Memorial  of  1853  to  Legis- 
lature    431 

Document  No.     6     Letter — Murray  to  Turner.  433 
Document  No.     7     Murray's     Suggestions    for 

a  University  435 

Document  No.     8     Letter — Kennicott  to  Tnim- 

bull    438 

Document  No.     9     Petitions  to  Congress 439 

vii 


Document  No.  10     The  Seminary  Contract.  .  .  .  458 

Document  No.  11  Memorial  of  Champaign 
county  citizens  to  the  Leg- 
islature, 1861   462 

Document  No.  12  Act  to  Incorporate  the 
Urbana  and  Champaign 
Institute   466 

Document  No.  13  Proceedings  of  Sixth  Agri- 
cultural  Convention 469 

Document  No.  14  Memorial  of  Sixth  Conven- 
tion to  the  Legislature.  . .  473 

Document  No.  15     Resolutions    of   the    Eighth 

Convention    475 

Document  No.  16     The   Chicago   Committee  at 

Home   477 

Document  No.  17  Report  of  Champaign 
county  committee  in  re- 
gard to  Bloomington  Con- 
vention    481 

Document  No.  18     Offers  by  various  counties..  485 

Document  No.  19  Report  of  Decatur  Commit- 
tee on  Location  of  Uni- 
versity     492 

Document  No.  20     History   of  the   Champaign 

''Elephant"    506 

Document  No.  21     Griggs  and  the  Location  of 

the  University   515 

Document  No.  22  Statement  by  Justin  S.  Mor- 
rill     523 

Document  No.  23  Bills  and  Acts  to  Establish 
an  Agricultural  College 
or  University   525 

Document  No.  24  Address  to  Citizens  of  Mor- 
gan County 564 

Document  No.  25     Resolutions    of    Board    of 

Trustees   579 

Document  No.  26  Federal  and  State  Laws  con- 
cerning the  University  of 
Illinois  584 

Document  No.  27  Petition  of  Chicago  Mechan- 
ics to  the  General  Assem- 
bly      599 

Document  No.  28  Table — Land  Grant  Col- 
leges and  the  1862  Land 
Grant  Fund   616 

Document  No.  29  Table — The  opening  and 
Organization     of     Land 

Grant  Colleges 618 

Index  620 

viii 


DOCUMENTARY  SOURCES 


Turner  manuscripts  refer  to  a  collection  of  the  letters  that  were 
received  by  J.  B.  Turner  and  have  been  given  to  the  University 
by  Mrs.  Mary  Carriel,  daughter  of  Turner. 

Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield,  is  another  collection  from  the 
same  source  but  in  possession  of  the  State  Historical  Library 
in  Springfield. 

Murray  manuscripts  are  the  letters  and  papers  furnished  the 
university  by  Bronson  Murray. 

Pennell  manuscripts  are  letters  loaned  the  university  by  Mrs. 
Joseph  Carter,  a  daughter  of  William  A.  Pennell. 

Cunningham  manuscript  is  a  paper  written  by  former  Judge 
J.  0.  Cunningham  for  the  express  purpose  of  aiding  the  uni- 
versity historian. 

Brayman  manuscripts,  consisting  of  letters,  copies  of  official 
documents,  and  other  papers,  that  belonged  earlier  to  General 
Mason  Brayman,  were  loaned  to  the  university. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Group  of  Men  who  Led . 


149 


President  Edmund  Janes  James Frontispiece 

(Facing  page) 

Jonathan  Baldwin  Turner 14 

Granville  Church  and  Industrial  League  Design 16 

Turner  Home  in  Jacksonville 128 

Bronson  Murray  138 

John  A.  Kennicott 144 

William  A.  Pennell 

Ralph  "Ware 

John  P.  Reynolds 

L.  L.  Bullock 

Jesse  W.  Fell 
,  Justin  S.  Morrill 

Jonathan  C,  Stoughton 201 

C.  A.  Hunt 201 

Old  University  Building — Rear  View 208 

Early  Campus  281 

Earliest  University  Building 308 

Adelphic  Society  314 

Philomathean  Society 319 

First  Botany  Class 324 

Alethenai  Society 327 

Group  of  Early  Alumni — Baker,  Rolfe  and  Ricker 335 

Group  of  Trustees 338 

Group  of  Trustees 345 

Group 

George  Atherton — Member  of  First  Faculty^ 
B.  F.  Harris — An  Incorporator  of  Urbana- 

Champaign  Institute 
0.  B.  Galusha — Member  of  First  Board  of 

Trustees 
Group — First  Faculty   350 


346 


INTRODUCTION 


Fifty  years  ago  on  the  second  of  March,  1868,  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University  was  opened  for  the  registration  of  stu- 
dents. Three  students  enrolled  on  that  day,  just  the  number 
of  the  faculty,  including  the  Regent,  elected  up  to  that  time. 
Nine  days  later  on  Wednesday,  March  11th,  the  university 
was  formally  opened  with  public  ceremonies  of  interest  and 
significance,  and  Doctor  John  Milton  Gregory,  who  had  been 
elected  regent  of  the  university  on  March  12th,  1867,  at  the  first 
meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  a  year  before,  was  formally  in- 
stalled in  his  high  office. 

If  this  may  be  counted  as  the  real  birthday  of  the  university, 
the  day  of  its  conception  may  properly  be  named  as  the  second 
of  July,  1862,  when  Abraham  Lincoln  appended  his  signature 
to  the  so-called  land  grant  act  of  1862,  by  which  30,000  acres 
of  land  were  given  to  each  state  of  the  union  for  each  senator 
and  representative  from  that  state  in  the  federal  congress.  Illi- 
nois received  480,000  acres  of  land  under  this  grant  "for  the 
endowment,  support  and  maintenance  of  at  least  one  college 
where  the  leading  objects  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scien- 
tific and  classical  studies  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach 
such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  Agriculture  and  the 
Mechanic  Arts  in  such  manner  as  the  legislatures  of  the  states 
may  respectively  prescribe  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and 
practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  their  several  pur- 
suits and  professions  in  life. ' ' 

So  far  as  is  known  this  was  the  most  magnificent  endowment 
of  higher  education  ever  made  in  one  law  by  any  political  body. 
It  is  not  without  significance  that  this  bill  was  passed  in  the 
darkest  period  of  the  civil  war.  Friends  and  enemies  of  the 
American  Republic  in  Europe  alike  believed  that  the  Union  had 
been  dissolved;  even  such  a  man  as  Gladstone  could  announce 
confidently  that  the  United  States  of  America  had  ceased  to 
exist.  The  answer  of  the  American  people  to  this  note  of  pessim- 
ism and  discouragement  was  that  magnificent  declaration  of 
confidence  in  the  perpetuity  and  development  of  this  government 
"of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people."  It  was  a 
recognition  of  the  travail  of  the  Republic  and  its  belief  in  the 
loyalty  of  its  sons,  that  the  Government  prescribed  instruction 
in  military  tactics  in  this  new  institution.     It  was  indicative  of 


xii  Ilisiorxj  Univcrsihj  of  Illinois 

its  confidence  that  the  students  of  this  university  would  do  their 
part  in  the  defense  of  the  country  if  they  were  ever  called  upon 
to  do  so. 

And  now  in  this  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  opening  of  this 
institution  our  beloved  country  finds  itself  in  the  midst  of  the 
Great  War  for  liberty  and  democracy  against  tyranny  and 
autocracy.  Its  sons,  I  am  rejoiced  to  say,  have  fulfilled — nay 
more  than  fulfilled — all  the  expectations  of  its  founders.  In 
every  branch  of  the  military  and  naval  service,  in  every  division 
of  the  forces  for  the  national  defense,  on  every  battle  front  in 
Europe  and  Asia  will  be  found  alumni  of  this  institution,  of 
which  their  Alma  Mater  may  well  be  proud ;  for  they  are  living, 
sacrificing — nay,  dying  for  human  freedom  and  our  national 
independence. 

At  the  opening  exercises  of  the  university  on  that  11th  day 
of  March,  1868,  certain  letters  were  read  from  distinguished 
men  who  had  been  invited  to  attend  but  could  not  be  present. 
One  of  the  most  significant  was  from  the  great  war  governor  of 
Illinois,  the  honorable  Richard  Yates,  at  that  time  senator  from 
Illinois  in  the  Federal  Congress.     He  writes: 

"My  great  hope  is  that  this  institution  shall  prove  the  crown- 
ing achievement  of  this  age  among  all  the  grand  works  in  be- 
half of  popular  education,  which  illustrates  the  splendid  his- 
tory of  our  state  and  that  to  the  latest  generation  our  young 
men  shall  have  cause  to  bless  the  wise  forethought  of  the  men 
of  this  age,  who  have,  amidst  gigantic  war,  not  only  vindicated 
the  free  institutions  and  ideas  of  self-government,  but  also 
founded  this  splendid  nursery  of  free  men  and  enlightened 
patriotism.  An  educated  man  may  become  unpatriotic,  a  patriot 
may  become  perverted  through  ignorance,  but  wisdom  and 
patriotism  hand  in  hand  are  invincible." 

His  wish  was  a  splendid  prophecy  which  has  been  splendidly 
fulfilled. 

It  is  only  by  a  patient  study  of  its  own  history  that  a  people 
may  come  to  an  understanding  of  Avhat  it  really  is  and  how  it 
has  come  to  be;  only  by  a  careful  and  detailed  study  of  the 
process  by  which  it  has  grown  can  it  gain  that  just  and  solemn 
pride  in  its  past  achievements,  which  is  at  once  the  source  and 
inspiration  of  its  future  efforts.  Ever  since  Pericles  pronounced 
that  wonderful  memorial  oration  over  the  Athenian  soldiers,  who 
had  fallen  in  the  early  campaigns  of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  we 
have  all  believed  with  him  that  no  people  is  worthy  to  receive 
the  heritage  of  freedom  and  culture  which  its  ancestors  have 


Iniroduction 


XII 


passed  do\\ai  to  it  unless  on  its  own  part  it  takes  the  trouble 
to  study  the  deeds  and  thoughts  of  the  men  who  through  toil 
and  sweat  and  blood  wove  the  web  of  these  magnificent  achieve- 
ments on  the  roaring  loom  of  time.  The  man,  who  thinks  not 
of  his  ancestry,  thinks  little  of  his  posterity,  and  he,  who  thinks 
of  neither,  lives  and  dies  like  a  dog,  and  leaves, — I  will  not  say 
an  empty  place  for  his  insignificance  was  too  great  to  have 
occupied  a  place, — but  an  unfelt  and  unnoticed  point  or  spot 
in  the  great  process  of  human  life. 

The  real  history  of  a  commonwealth  like  that  of  Illinois  can 
never  be  written  or  understood  unless  all  the  phases  of  its  life, 
its  thought  and  feeling  and  action  have  been  studied  and  viewed 
as  a  unit  from  some  single  vantage  ground  of  wide  observation. 
From  this  point  of  view,  the  education,  the  politics,  the  industry, 
the  art  and  religion,  the  social  organization,  the  ideas  and  the 
ideals  must  all  be  examined  and  brought  into  an  integral  rela- 
tion to  one  another. 

Of  all  these  aspects  none  is  more  important  than  education. 
A  complete  view  of  its  development  throws  a  flood  of  light  on 
the  development  of  all  other  sides  of  the  community  life.  It 
furnishes  us  a  cross-section,  so  to  speak,  of  its  entire  structure. 
The  history  of  higher  education  is  a  very  important  part  of  the 
general  field  of  education.  Many  improvements  in  society,  which 
are  brought  about  by  education,  spring  up  in  the  centers  of 
learning  and  culture  known  as  universities.  The  univer- 
sities themselves  as  organizations  have  often  opposed  reform 
and  advances,  but  in  most  cases  such  ideas  have  sprung  from 
the  heads  of  men  who  have  had  the  benefit  of  university  train- 
ing. No  people  ever  developed  a  thoroughly  good  system  of 
secondary  or  elementary  education  which  had  not  first  developed 
a  scheme  of  higher  education.  The  reason  is  plain.  To  develop 
a  general  system  of  efficient  secondary  or  elementary  schools 
there  must  be  a  supply  of  good  teachers.  To  have  a  supply  of 
good  teachers  one  must  have  good  higher  schools.  The  talk 
which  one  often  hears,  that  all  our  educational  funds  should  be 
expended  on  elementary  or  secondary  schools  until  they  are  per- 
fect before  any  should  be  expended  on  colleges  or  universities,  is 
pure  quackery  and  demagogy,  whether  talked  by  a  walking  dele- 
gate or  by  a  governor  of  a  state,  and  the  latter  is,  alas!,  more 
apt  to  express  this  idea  than  the  former. 

The  history  of  the  University  of  Illinois,  is,  however,  one 
full  of  stimulus  and  encouragement  to  lovers  of  popular  edu- 


xiv  History  University  of  Illinois 

cation.  The  movement  which  ended  in  its  establishment  is  almost 
purely  a  popular  movement,  although  begun  and  urged  by  col- 
lege men ;  and  the  great  advances  in  the  development  of  the  uni- 
versity have  come  generally  not  from  its  board  of  trustees  or 
its  presidents  or  its  faculty  or  its  alumni,  but  from  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  common  citizenship  of  the  state,  as  year  by  year 
it  grew  in  education,  in  culture  and  in  vision.  It  is  purely  and 
emphatically  an  institution  of  the  people  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  such  members  of  the  body  politic  and  body  social  and  body 
economic  as  choose  to  seek  for  such  an  education.  The  people 
W'ho  do  not  care  to  utilize  its  advantages  directly  are  just  as 
enthusiastic  in  its  support  as  those  who  spend  months  or  years 
within  its  walls.  Why?  Because  they  see  with  ever  clearer 
vision  that  the  problems  of  our  human  society  can  be  settled 
only  on  the  basis  of  a  wider  and  ever  more  accurate  scientific 
knowledge  and  that  the  university  is  the  organ  of  the  state 
whose  function  it  is  to  discover  this  knowledge,  to  systematize 
it  into  science,  to  spread  it  abroad  in  print,  and  train  it  into 
the  very  fibre  of  the  youth  of  the  Commonwealth  until  it  be- 
comes a  part  of  their  moral  texture.  The  men  of  today  recog- 
nize that  this  movement  is  of  more  far  reaching  effect  than  their 
predecessors  of  fifty  years  ago  would  or  could  recognize,  and  so 
they  are  willing  to  spend  more  money  upon  more  subjects  in 
more  ways  than  the  men  of  the  forties  or  fifties  in  the  prairie 
state. 

The  University  of  Illinois  today  is  a  vastly  different  institu- 
tion from  what  it  was  in  March,  1868,  and  in  1968  it  will  be 
more  different  from  what  it  is  now,  than  it  is  today  from  what 
it  was  fiftj^  years  ago.  Why?  Because  the  world  of  1968  will 
be  more  vastly  different  than  our  w^orld  has  been  from  the  world 
of  the  fifties  and  sixties.  The  great  war  will  in  my  opinion 
change  the  face,  nay,  change  the  very  constitution  of  society 
as  no  other  war  in  history  has  changed  it,  except  the  French 
Revolution  itself;  and  with  this  change  in  society  must  come 
a  change  in  all  its  institutions,  and  in  none  will  there  be  a  more 
profound  change  than  in  its  universities. 

Some  of  the  men  who  presided  over  the  birth  of  this  insti- 
tution were  of  large  vision.  They  foresaAV  that  the  institution 
would  become  greater  than  and  different  from  any  institution 
which  they  could  foresee.  The  university  anthem,  which  was 
written  by  Doctor  Gregory  and  sung  at  the  opening  exercises 
of  the  institution,  indicates  this  vague  feeling. 


Introduction  xv 

' '  "We  hail  thee !  Great  fountain  of  learning  and  light ; 
There's  life  in  thy  radiance,  there's  hope  in  thy  might; 
"We  greet  now  thy  dawning,  but  what  singer 's  rhyme 
Shall  follow  thy  course  down  the  ages  of  time. ' ' 

Prophecies  of  the  men  Avho  labored  to  secure  the  foundation 
of  this  institution  were  large  and  far  reaching,  but  none  of  them 
equalled  the  reality,  none  of  them  appreciated  what  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  next  fifty  years  were  to  be,  and  they  would  all  be 
greatly  surprised  at  this  institution  now  if  they  could  return 
to  view  it.  Our  fate  will  doubtless  be  the  same.  "We  have  seen 
great  things  come  to  pass  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  in  the 
life  of  this  university ;  we  have  dreamed  large  dreams  and  framed 
great  plans,  but  our  successors  fifty  years  from  now  will  bewail 
our  lack  of  vision ;  they  will  moan  and  groan  over  the  fact  that 
the  foundations  which  we  have  laid  are  too  small  and  too  weak 
to  support  the  superstructure  they  will  be  raising;  they  will 
be  compelled  to  tear  down  many  of  our  fairest  creations  because 
they  will  seem  so  small  and  so  weak;  and  they  will  wonder 
that  the  men  of  1918  could  be  so  short-sighted,  so  blind,  so 
unimaginative,  so  ignorant, — and  our  only  excuse  can  be  that 
they  will  be  living  in  a  new  world,  the  world  after  the  great 
war,  a  world  of  which  we,  who  have  lived  in  the  last  generation, 
can  have  little  conception. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  this  point  again  even  at  the  risk  of 
some  repetition  both  in  thought  and  word.  "We  are  now  in 
the  throes  of  a  gigantic  struggle  for  human  liberty.  This  strug- 
gle itself  ^vill  change  us  all  into  new  men.  The  University  is 
looking  forward  with  confidence  to  a  glorious  victory  in  which 
it  shall  have  had  no  mean  share,  a  victory  of  democracy  over 
autocracy,  of  liberty  over  despotism,  of  light  over  darkness,  of 
wisdom  over  ignorance.  And  when  that  peace  shall  come  to 
a  war-wearied  world,  I  have  no  doubt  myself,  that  a  new  and 
far  greater  era  will  open  before  this  institution. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  in  1865  was  an  entirely 
different  people  from  what  it  was  in  1855  and  the  marvelous 
growth  of  our  beloved  country  in  the  following  fifty  years  de- 
pended largely  upon  the  fact  that  we  had  become  a  different 
people  after,  and  because  of,  the  great  struggle  for  liberty  from 
'61  to  '65  than  we  had  been  before.  And  so  now  I  believe  that 
the  American  people  at  the  close  of  this  war  will  be  a  new  and 


XVI 


Ilkior]!  University  of  Illinois 


different  people  with  a  wider  outlook,  Avith  higher  ideals  than 
ever  before.  As  in  many  other  fields,  so  in  this  of  education; 
as  in  many  other  institutions,  so  here  in  Illinois,  all  that  we 
have  accomplished  will  seem  small  compared  with  that  for  which 
we  shall  be  reaching  out,  all  that  we  have  done  mere  prepara- 
tion for  that  which  we  shall  do.  Our  successors,  because  of  their 
larger  outlook  and  alas !  because  of  our  own  short-sighted  vision 
will  possibly  find  in  our  work  little  inspiration.  They  will  only 
wonder  that  our  outlook  was  so  limited,  our  views  so  narrow, 
our  plans  so  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory,  our  foundations,  in 
the  laying  of  which  we  take  so  much  pride,  so  inadequate  to  the 
superstructure  which  they  will  wish  to  raise. 

It  will  be  a  new  world  into  which  human  society  will  advance 
when  victory  comes  and  peace  is  assured;  old  standards  will 
be  displaced  by  new  and  higher  ones  set  up  in  each  department 
of  individual  and  national  life.  We  shall  be  thinking  in  terms 
of  billions  of  dollars  instead  of  millions,  in  temis  of  opportunity 
for  all  instead  of  for  a  few,  in  terms  of  freedom  and  liberty  and 
democracy  instead  of  privilege  and  caste,  in  terms  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  ability  of  all  our  people  instead  of  that  of  a  few 
limited  classes,  in  terms  of  spiritual  life  instead  of  material  life. 

As  to  what  concrete  forms  this  new  spirit  shall  clothe  itself 
in,  we  have,  I  think,  now  little  notion,  and  even  our  dreams 
are  not  large  enough  to  take  in  the  reality,  but  I  venture  to 
mention  a  few  points  in  which  the  University  of  Illinois  in  1968 
will  be  different  from  the  university  of  today. 

We  think  now  of  a  university  with  low  fees  for  instruction ; 
then  we  shall  see  a  university  with  no  fees.  Now  a  university 
in  which  boys  and  girls  with  little  money  can  come  and  make 
their  way;  then  we  shall  see  a  university  in  which  every  boy 
and  girl,  who  is  able  and  willing  to  profit  by  a  university  educa- 
tion, will  be  able  to  get  it,  no  matter  how  poor  their  parents,  no 
matter  how  difficult  the  conditions  under  which  they  have  lived. 
We  think  now  of  a  university  with  half  a  million  books ;  then 
we  shall  see  one  with  five  millions.  Now  of  a  university  with  few 
laboratories,  with  very  inadequate  equipment ;  then  we  shall  see 
an  institution  made  up  of  numerous  laboratories  and  furnished 
with  all  the  equipment  which  can  be  of  use  in  making  the  labora- 
tory turn  out  the  largest  and  best  output  of  scientific  truth. 
We  see  a  university  now  in  which  only  a  few  of  the  subjects 
which  have  stimulated  the  human  intellect  and  stirred  the  human 


Introduction  xvii 

heart  are  made  the  object  of  scientific  study;  then  we  shall  see 
an  immensely  larger  number  of  subjects,  made  the  object  of 
strictly  scientific  study  and  development,  so  that  in  every  line 
of  human  life  the  largest  possible  enrichment  will  be  secured. 

We  see  now  an  institution  in  which  a  large  part  of  the  work 
done  is  elementary  in  character;  that  will  all  be  relegated  to 
the  high  schools  and  junior  colleges.  Young  men  and  women 
will  come  up  to  the  University  primarily  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  themselves  for  some  distinct  profession  or  calling, 
for  the  practice  of  which  a  study  of  the  sciences  underlying  the 
art  will  be  useful  or  necessary.  The  number  of  professions  for 
which  the  university  vnll  prepare  will  steadily  tend  to  increase, 
because  the  human  race  will  be  basing  everything  more  and 
more  upon  science ;  and  w^hen  the  business  of  a  profession  rests 
upon  the  solid  formulations  and  accumulations  of  human  science 
it  becomes  a  proper  subject  for  university  cultivation. 

The  university  will  in  the  next  fifty  years  become  still  more 
a  great  center  of  light  and  life  and  leadership  for  the  whole 
community  in  an  ever-increasing  number  of  directions.  We 
shall  press  forward  to  new  achievements  in  science  and  art.  We 
shall  become  free  in  a  new  and  different  sense  from  Avhat  we 
are  now ;  for  the  truth,  the  pursuit  of  which  is  one  of  the  great 
primary  ends  of  the  university,  will  make  us  free.  We  shall 
not  be  afraid  to  speak  our  minds;  we  shall  win  that  academic 
freedom  which  now  exists  nowhere  in  the  world ;  for  as  yet  men 
are  not  willing  to  accept  its  full  consequences.  The  dangers  of 
Bolshevikism  in  our  undeveloped  human  society  are  still  too 
great  in  our  imagination  at  any  rate  to  permit  the  largest  de- 
gree of  liberty ;  but  that  time  will  be  brought  perceptibly  nearer 
by  the  results  of  this  great  war,  and  our  universities  should 
help  in  this  development,  and  Illinois  should  lead  the  way. 

We  shall  be  much  more  willing  to  accord  to  strength  and 
power  full  leadership  because  they  will  be  exerted  in  the  inter- 
ests of  all  and  not  in  the  interests  of  a  few.  The  university  will 
be  an  entirely  different  institution  in  that  great  society  which 
we  are  gradually  weaving  on  the  great  loom  of  time,  in  which 
no  man  or  woman,  willing  to  work,  shall  suffer  because  work 
can  not  be  found;  when  no  one  will  be  compelled  to  work  for 
a  wage  which  will  not  sustain  a  decent  human  life ;  when  to  in- 
dustry and  thrift  will  come  the  opportunity  to  share  in  all  the 
blessings  of  an  advanced  civilization  instead  of  in  only  a  few; 


xviii  History  University  of  Illinois 

when  all  men  will  be  studying  to  see  how  they  can  advance  the 
general  good  in  which  all  participate  instead  of  the  mere  indi- 
vidual good  which  excludes  most  men  from  any  share  in  it ;  and 
when  all  men  will  be  willing  to  strive  toward  this  end. 

Our  five  thousand  students  may  have  become  ten  or  fifteen 
or  twenty  thousand.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  limit  to  the  possible 
numbers  of  a  university  organized  on  sound  democratic  self- 
governing  lines;  and  there  is  no  limit  to  the  contributions  to 
human  civilization  and  welfare  which  the  students  of  such  a 
university,  properly  trained  for  their  work  as  students,  properly 
inspired  and  led  toward  higher  ideals,  properly  caring  for  them- 
selves in  a  way  to  secure  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  health, 
may  be  able  to  make. 

Let  Illinois  become  one  of  the  holy  places  in  the  history  of 
the  human  spirit — great  among  all  the  universities  which  have 
been  and  great  among  those  new  institutions  which  will  surpass 
those  of  the  past  as  our  material  advance  surpasses  that  of  all 
the  past  of  the  race.  Let  it  be  counted  one  of  the  very  greatest 
because  it  has  ministered  most  to  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

I  have  been  privileged  to  act  as  president  of  the  University 
of  Illinois  for  fourteen  years,  the  longest  term  accorded  to  any 
such  officer  in  the  history  of  the  institution.  During  this  period 
I  have  been  occasionally  ill,  have  passed  through  the  dark  waters 
of  family  affliction,  have  been  bitterly  disappointed  in  the  failure 
to  realize  many  of  my  cherished  plans,  and  now  have  lived  to 
see  most  of  them  and  the  largest  of  them  deferred  by  this  great 
war  to  a  period  when  I  shall  have  no  personal  part  in  them.  But 
it  has  all  been  worth  while,  and  I  thank  God  and  the  people  of 
this  commonwealth,  who  through  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
University  of  Illinois  have  given  me  this  opportunity  for  public 
service,  and  I  thank  the  board  of  trustees  and  my  colleagues 
on  the  faculty  for  their  support  and  sympathy  without  which 
I  could  have  done  nothing.  My  only  regret  is  for  my  mistakes 
and  failures. 

I  hope  that  the  president  of  the  university,  who  fifty  years 
from  now  may  write  the  introduction  to  the  centennial  history 
of  the  university,  may  be  able  to  ascribe  to  my  successors  in 
this  high  office  the  same  large  part  in  the  development  of  the 
university  in  the  next  fifty  years  as  belongs  to  my  predecessors 
in  the  last  fifty  years,  who  laid  its  foundations  so  broadly 
and  so  well. 


Introduction  xix 

This  semi-centennial  history  will  show  in  its  progress  that 
the  really  valuable  work  in  the  development  of  the  university 
has  been  done  after  all  not  by  its  presidents,  but  by  its  faculties. 
The  names  of  Burrill  and  Forbes  and  Noyes  and  Ward  and  the 
like  of  them  will  persist  in  the  annals  of  human  science  long 
after  those  of  Gregory  and  Peabody  and  Draper  and  James  and 
the  like  of  them  will  have  perished  from  the  earth.  The  func- 
tion of  the  legislatures,  the  board  of  trustees  and  the  presidents 
of  the  university  is  really  nothing  but  to  create  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  possible  for  the  higher  training  of  the  youth  of 
the  state  and  for  the  development  of  human  science,  and  for 
developing  leaders  in  every  department  of  the  multiform  life 
of  the  commonwealth. 

One  of  these  favorable  conditions  is  the  presence  of  a  good 
faculty,  i.  e.,  a  competent  and  inspiring  body  of  first-rate  scien- 
tific investigators  and  teachers  with  ideas  and  ideals  suited  to 
lead  their  students  up  to  the  very  heights  of  human  effort  and 
vision.  In  that  faculty  of  1968,  which  will  preside  over  this 
new  institution,  there  will  be  no  professor  who  does  not  have 
from  his  salary  alone  an  income  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  do 
his  work  as  teacher  and  investigator  and  to  live  a  worthy  life 
as  a  citizen  and  to  raise  a  family  in  decency  and  with  some  de- 
gree of  comfort.  Nor  will  there  be  any  professor,  who,  having 
this  income  sufficient  to  put  him  above  the  ordinary  financial 
worriments  of  life,  will  be  so  unworthy  of  his  high  position  as  to 
fail  to  give  in  an  unstinted  way  his  thought  and  time  and  strength 
to  the  performance  in  the  most  faithful  way  possible  of  the 
duties  of  his  position.  There  will  be  no  professor  who  is  not 
an  efficient  teacher  interested  in  his  pupils  and  in  his  teaching 
with  an  earnest  desire  and  determination  to  make  it  really  suc- 
cessful and  inspiring;  nor  any  professor  who  does  not  make 
his  university  work  the  chief, — one  will  be  tempted  to  say  the 
sole  object  of  interest,  subordinating  every  other  element  in  his 
life  to  this  one,  except  of  course  that  he  should  first  of  all  be  a 
good  man,  and  a  good  citizen.  There  will  be  no  professor  in 
the  faculty  of  this  institution  who  does  not  earnestly  desire  to 
add  to  our  available  stock  of  scientific  knowledge  in  his  depart- 
ment, and  nobody  will  remain  on  the  faculty  for  any  great 
length  of  time  who  does  not  as  a  matter  of  fact  prove  by  his  ac- 
complishments that  he  has  done  so.  A  university  professor 
who  does  not  write  his  name  in  the  list  of  men  who  have  made 


XX 


History  University  of  Illinois 


valuable  contributions  to  the  scientific  literature  of  his  subject, 
is  out  of  place  in  a  university.  He  should  be  transferred  to  a 
high  school  or  normal  school.  Moreover,  a  university  professor 
who  does  not  desire  scientific  posterity,  so  to  speak,  in  the  form 
of  able  students  to  carry  on  his  work  of  extending  the  bounds 
of  human  knowledge  should  not  be  kept  in  a  university  faculty 
as  a  teacher.  Such  professors  will  teach  and  investigate  instead 
of  trying  to  increase  their  personal  revenue  by  overworking  the 
brain  and  body  in  doing  merely  pot-boiling  work. 

Many  men  now  in  American  universities  would  of  course 
be  excluded  from  the  calling  by  the  application  of  such  tests, 
but  the  universities  would  become  a  far  higher  form  of  educa- 
tional organization.  After  the  university  has  once  set  before 
itself  the  proper  ideals  and  the  community  provides  the  neces- 
sary funds,  there  will  be  a  sufficient  supply  of  able  investigators 
who  are  also  good  teachers  to  fill  the  chairs  of  any  number  of 
universities — at  least  as  well  as  they  are  filled  now  by  the  best 
type  of  existing  professors. 

In  that  university  of  1968,  no  professor  will  debauch  his  de- 
partment or  his  work  by  putting  in  his  own  son  or  son-in-law  as 
assistant  to  himself  or  by  making  an  agreement  with  a  colleague 
tacit  or  expressed  by  which  each  should  look  after  the  other's 
son.  This  form  of  graft  has  not  been  unknown  in  our  Ameri- 
can universities.  I  worked  in  three  great  institutions  of  learn- 
ing before  coming  to  Illinois, — Pennsylvania,  Chicago  and  North- 
western, and  in  each  of  these  institutions,  and  in  many  others  too, 
some  departments  and  in  some  cases  several  departments  have 
been  almost  ruined  by  a  policy  of  flagrant  nepotism.  Of  all 
forms  of  illegitimate  influence  in  the  working  of  a  great  uni- 
versity, the  most  subtle,  the  most  disintegrating,  the  most  cor- 
rupting is  the  family  form.  Neither  ecclesiasticism  nor  party 
politics  can  be  compared  with  nepotism  in  its  power  to  debase 
standards  and  conduct. 

In  that  new  university  of  1968  the  principle  will  be  adopted 
that  one  member  of  a  family  is  sufficient  representation  in  any 
university  faculty,  and  family  will  be  interpreted  to  extend  to 
the  fourth  degree  of  relationship.  The  system  of  nepotism  is 
bad  enough  in  a  small  college  like  Williams  or  Amherst  in  which 
it  has  produced  as  the  Englishman  would  say  ' '  rotten  results. ' ' 
In  a  great  university  like  Illinois  it  becomes  a  very  serious 
danger  and  that  for  a  very  simple  reason.  We  have  so  many 
different  kinds  of  talent,  including  so  many  different  kinds  of 


Introduction  xxi 

positions  that  the  relatives  of  a  professor  or  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  could  all  be  taken  care  of  in  some  form  or 
other,  if  the  principle  were  once  admitted.  The  professor  of 
Greek,  for  example,  with  ten  children — we  have  had  no  such  one 
at  Illinois — might  find  it  difficult  to  place  more  than  one  of  his 
children  in  the  faculty  of  an  institution  like  Beloit  or  Knox. 
But  in  the  University  of  Illinois  he  would  have  a  rare  oppor- 
tunity. He  might  place  one  in  the  Department  of  Greek,  one 
in  the  Department  of  Modern  Languages,  another  in  the 
Engineering  Department,  another  in  Domestic  Science,  another 
in  Dairying  or  in  a  stenographic  position,  another  among  the 
stable  men  and  so  forth  and  so  forth,  until  the  entire  family 
might  be  cared  for.  And  from  my  experience  there  is  absolutely 
no  limit  to  w^hich  such  a  practice  would  be  carried,  if  permitted, 
except  the  willingness  of  the  public  to  put  up  with  it.  With 
such  a  planting  of  relatives  the  entire  faculty  would  soon  be 
so  honeycombed  with  relations  and  inter-relations  that  no  ques- 
tion affecting  a  person,  that  is,  affecting  appointments  in  the 
university  or  promotions  or  salaries,  could  be  decided  on  its 
merits.  One  member  of  a  family  at  a  time  on  a  faculty  is  suffi- 
cient. Such  a  rule  is  of  course  a  mere  mechanical  device,  purely 
negative  in  its  character,  and  would  not  of  itself,  even  if  strictly 
interpreted,  get  a  single  firstclass  man  into  a  faculty;  but  it 
would  exclude  a  very  undesirable  class,  namely,  those  recom- 
mended to  positions  because  of  relationship,  becoming  ever  more 
undesirable  in  proportion  as  it  grows  larger. 

In  closing  this  rather  rambling  introduction,  it  may  be  of 
interest  for  the  man  who  may  be  president  of  the  university  in 
1968  to  see  over  how  great  a  length  of  time  the  personal  touch 
may  reach  of  the  men  who  were  on  the  first  board  of  trustees, 
appointed  by  the  Governor  in  March,  1867.  I  knew  personally 
either  as  boy  or  man  Honorable  Newton  Bateman,  State  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction,  J.  C.  Burroughs,  Emory  Cobb, 
J.  C.  Cunningham,  0.  B.  Galusha,  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  Gover- 
nor of  Illinois,  and  Doctor  John  Milton  Gregory,  the  Regent.  Of 
the  first  faculty,  serving  or  elected  in  the  Spring  term  of  1868, 
I  knew  nearly  half  aside  from  the  Regent — Professor  G.  W. 
Atherton,  Professor  J.  W.  Powell,  Professor  Thomas  J,  Burrill 
and  Professor  Edward  Eggleston  and  Professor  Joseph  A. 
Sewall. 

Doctor  Burrill  had  been  a  student  and  was  a  graduate  of  the 
State  Normal  University  at  Normal,  Illinois,  where  I  prepared 


xxii  History  University  of  Illinois 

for  college,  and  although  he  had  graduated  before  I  entered 
school,  I  had  heard  much  of  him  and  saw  him  frequently.  He 
won  for  himself  very  early  in  his  career  a  distinguished  place 
in  the  list  of  scientific  investigators. 

Professor  Atherton  became  subsequently  president  of  the 
State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  in  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  a  man  of  power  and  perhaps  of  more  influence  in  the 
passage  of  the  Hatch  Act,  establishing  the  agricultural  experi- 
ments stations  than  any  other  man. 

Professor  Powell  was  curator  of  the  museum  of  natural  his- 
tory and  geology  in  the  Normal  University  and  professor  of 
Geology  in  the  Illinois  Wesleyan  University.  He  became  sub- 
sequently one  of  the  most  distinguished  geologists  of  his  genera- 
tion, and  may  be  said  as  director  to  have  built  up  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey. 

Edward  Eggleston  was  the  well-known  author  of  the 
''Hoosier  Schoolmaster,"  a  man  of  influence  and  power  in  his 
generation  throughout  the  country. 

Joseph  A.  Sewall,  a  former  teacher  of  mine  in  the  State 
Normal  University  at  Normal  was  elected  professor  but  subse- 
quently declined  the  position.  He  became  later  President  of  the 
University  of  Colorado.  He  gave  the  first  commencement  ad- 
dress at  the  university  before  the  literary  societies  at  the  close 
of  the  first  term,  Friday,  June  12,  1868. 

I  knew  personally  many  of  the  men  who  were  interested  in 
the  struggle  to  locate  the  land  grant  college,  particularly  those 
in  McLean  County,  Jesse  W.  Fell,  A.  Gridley,  William  J.  Rut- 
ledge,  L.  A.  Hovey.  Of  the  men  who  were  active  in  the  very 
beginning  of  the  agitation  for  industrial  universities,  I  knew 
intimately  William  Pennell,  Daniel  Wilkins,  L.  A.  Hovey,  and 
Charles  E.  Hovey,  B.  G.  Root  and  N.  A.  Brown. 

In  addition,  of  the  prominent  men  who  were  present  at  the 
opening  of  the  university  or  who  wrote  letters  expressing  their 
regret  at  not  being  able  to  be  present,  I  knew  General  John  A. 
Logan,  S.  W.  Moulton  and  Senator  Shelby  M.  Cullom. 
Illinois!  aeternum  floreat! 


May  1,  1918. 
Urbana-Champaign 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOR  INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION 

And  the  ESTABLISHMENT  of  the  UNIVERSITY 

1840-1870 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   BEGINNING   OF    THE    STRUGGLE    FOR 
INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION 

Education  for  the  industries  came  slowly  in  this  country; 
yet  the  idea  that  the  schools  owed  something  to  the  earth  and 
to  the  workshop,  even  as  they  did  to  law  and  to  medicine, 
appeared  early  and  was  as  hard  to  down  as  the  ghost  of  Banquo 
at  the  feast. 

However,  it  is  one  thing  to  believe  in  a  new  idea  to  the 
bottom  of  one's  heart  and  quite  another  to  believe  in  it  to 
the  bottom  of  one's  pocketbook.  The  unaccustomed  opens  both 
private  and  public  purse  slowly.  Moreover,  those  who  believed 
in  education  for  the  industries  to  the  extent  of  spending  money 
for  it  were  confronted  with  puzzling  problems.  Who  should 
furnish  the  money,  private  individuals  or  the  state?  Should 
the  new  education  be  made  a  part  of  the  schools  already  exist- 
ing or  should  new  ones  be  established?  It  was  not  until  1851 
that  a  proposal  for  education  for  the  industries  was  made  that 
appealed  finally  and  forcibly  to  thinking  men  as  entirely  prac- 
ticable. 

The  plan  as  first  outlined  described  an  industrial  university 
that  should  be  established  in  Illinois  and  that  was  needed  in 
each  of  the  states  of  the  union.  To  this  general  plan  there  was 
added  three  months  later  the  vitalizing  idea  that  this  great 
proposed  system  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges  should 
be  supported  by  a  grant  of  lands  from  congress.  Nowf  the  idea 
that  public  lands  should  be  set  aside  for  education  had  long 
been  approved.  By  1854  an  aggregate  of  4,060,704  acres  of  land 
had  been  granted  to  fifteen  states  of  the  union  for  the  endowment 
of  universities.  More  than  60,000,000  acres  had  been  appropri- 
ated for  the  establishment  of  common  schools.  It  had  even 
become  a  settled  policy  of  the  government  to  set  aside  in  each 
state  as  it  was  admitted  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  as  a 
sacred  fund  for  education  in  that  state. 


2  History  University  of  Illinois 

Therefore  the  idea  of  a  land  grant  for  education  was  not 
new;i  its  application  to  common  schools  and  to  universities 
Avas  not  new,  but  there  was  in  the  proposal  of  Jonathan  B.  Tur- 
ner, put  forth  in  1851,  an  element  that  was  entirely  new.  It  was 
the  project  of  setting  aside  public  lands  to  support  industrial 
universities  in  each  state,  old  and  new,  and  particularly  a  sys- 
tem of  universities  or  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges; 
the  land  to  be  located  wherever  the  state  pleased  on  the  public 
domain.    This  never  before  had  been  proposed. 

An  idea,  like  a  tree,  is  known  by  its  fruits.  This  one,  then, 
must  have  been  sound,  amazingly  vital,  for  the  system  it  pro- 
posed has  developed  into  the  largest  group  of  higher  educa- 
tional institutions  in  the  world  with  a  common  origin.  It  was 
proposed  by  an  Illinois  man,  Jonathan  B.  Turner;  it  was  ad- 
vanced, fought  for  and  developed  by  a  faithful  group  of  Illinois 
men ;  in  1862  more  than  a  decade  after  its  first  proposal,  it  was 
made  the  basis  of  an  act  known  as  the  Land  Grant  Act,  signed 
by  an  Illinois  man  in  the  president's  chair,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

This  act  provided  that  the  federal  government  of  the 
United  States  should  make  a  grant  of  public  lands  to  the  va- 
rious states  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in  each  of  the  states 
that  accepted  the  proposition,  an  agricultural  and  mechanical 
college.  From  this  has  sprung  the  great  system  of  public  in- 
stitutions for  the  higher  education  of  the  people  along  agri- 
cultural and  mechanical  lines.  This  proposal,  although  in  its 
definite  announcement  the  work  of  one  man,  came  as  the  result 
of  years  of  consideration  on  the  part  of  many  men. 

That  the  need  for  industrial  education  was  so  keenly  felt 
was  the  natural  result  of  certain  inventions  and  discoveries; 
certain  intermingling  of  peoples.  By  these  things  men  had 
been  led  to  expect  the  marvelous.  The  popular  mind  was  eager 
for  information  concerning  science  and  its  application.  Al- 
ready the  physical  sciences,  notably  geology  and  chemistry, 
though  scarcely  half  a  century  old,  had  revolutionized  certain 
of  the  arts,  and,  when  applied  to  agriculture  had  produced 
results  that  recalled  Aladdin  and  his  wonderful  lamp.     Discov- 

*For  a  discussion  of  the  origin  of  the  attempt  to  secure  federal  land 
grants  for  the  aid  of  higher  education  see  below,  p.  156. 


Beginning  Struggle  for  Industrial  Education  3 

eries  and  inventions  and  their  application  to  the  physical  re- 
sources of  the  earth  were  modifying  the  occupations  and  in- 
dustries. Chemistry  was  completely  changing  such  arts  as  iron 
working  and  dyeing.  Steam  had  taught  men  to  treat  with  in- 
difference the  intervening  miles  of  sea  and  land.  The  miracle 
of  the  electric  telegraph  had  shown  that  there  was  a  force  in 
nature  willing  to  project  men's  words  across  the  continent  if 
granted  only  an  accomodating  wire.  Also,  war  and  famine  in 
Europe  at  the  time  that  steam  travel  was  made  practicable 
brought  new  people  to  us.  The  revolution  in  Germany,  the  vine 
disease  in  France,  the  potato  disease  in  Ireland  brought  men 
from  older  countries  where  the  fear  of  an  empty  stomach  had 
been  an  excellent  teacher  of  conservation  of  the  soil. 

Naturally  in  an  age  of  quickened  life  when  everything  was 
being  questioned,  education  came  in  for  its  share  of  criticism. 
Finally  arose  those  bold  enough  to  say  that  the  ''old  educa- 
tion" based  on  Latin  and  Greek  in  no  way  filled  new  needs. 
Having  said  this  they  wondered,  a  bit  uncomfortably,  what 
would  happen ;  and  when  the  sun  got  up  the  next  morning  just 
as  usual  they  said  it  again  and  added  a  few  words  about  what 
education  ought  to  be.  Educators,  journalists,  and  champions 
of  the  working  classes  began  to  think  seriously  upon  what  edu- 
cation was  and  what  it  should  be  and  for  them  to  think  was  to 
talk. 

From  1840  to  1850  a  well  defined  movement  for  the  teach- 
ing of  agriculture  can  be  traced  in  several  of  the  states.  New 
York  and  Massachusetts  present  typical  movements  in  the  east, 
Michigan  and  Illinois  in  the  middle- west. ^ 

In  New  York  by  1840  the  proposal  to  educate  farmers' 
sons  for  the  farm  was  by  no  means  new.  The  New  York  agri- 
cultural society,  reorganized  for  efficient  service  by  an  act  of 
1841,  kept  the  proposal  before  the  farmers.  In  1842  a  paper 
was  addressed  to  the  state  agricultural  society  urging  upon  its 
members  the  importance  of  agricultural  education  and  advo- 
cating the  establishment  of  schools  or  colleges  where  subjects 

''In  Illinois  as  in  other  states,  "industrial"  education  included  mechan- 
ical as  well  as  agricultural  education ;  greater  attention,  however,  was  given 
to  the  latter. 


4  History  Universify  of  Illinois 

of  interest  and  assistance  to  the  agriculturist  could  be  taught. 
An  item  of  particular  interest  in  the  paper  is  the  advice  that 
such  a  school  be  located  where  there  would  be  no  exposure  to 
the  endless  temptations  of  cities  and  where  exercise,  health,  and 
strength  of  constitution  might  be  secured.^  Apparently  the 
function  of  spending  years  recovering  from  the  effects  of  foul 
air  and  dissipation  while  obtaining  an  education,  was  still  to  be 
the  prerogative  of  the  classical  student. 

In  January,  1844,  a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed  by 
the  society  to  promote  "the  introduction  of  agricultural  books 
and  studies  in  the  schools  and  libraries  throughout  the  state." 
The  members  of  the  committee  were  John  Grieg,  Governor 
Seward,  Lieutenant-Governor  Dickinson,  Colonel  John  King, 
James  S.  Wadsworth,  Judge  Savage,  and  Henry  O'Reilly. 
In  1845  this  committee  presented  an  elaborate  report,  which 
contained,  among  other  proposals,  one  emphatically  favoring 
the  introduction  of  agricultural  books  into  the  common  libra- 
ries and  the  offer  of  premiums  for  prize  essays.  ' '  The  condition 
of  the  youth  of  this  state  and  the  want  of  teachers  for  the  ele- 
mentary departments  of  education  seemed  unpropitious  to  the 
system,"  said  a  writer  of  1853  reporting  in  the  transactions  of 
the  society. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  January,  1844,  the  following  reso- 
lution was  passed  by  the  society :  ' '  That  this  society  regards 
the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  institute  and  pattern  farm 
in  this  state  where  shall  be  taught  thoroughly  the  science,  and 
after  the  science,  the  practice,  and  the  profits  of  good  hus- 
bandry, as  an  object  of  great  importance  to  the  productive  ag- 
riculture of  New  York."  This  was  distinctly  a  forward  step 
as  it  was  the  most  definite  expression  of  the  recognition  of  the 
need  for  agricultural  education  that  had  been  formulated. 

In  1846  Colonel  Sherwood  of  Cayuga,  who  was  head  of  the 
state  society,  declared  his  earnest  hope  that  the  day  was  not 
far  distant  when  agricultural  sciences  would  be  taught  in  our 
schools,  academies,  and  colleges. 


•New  York  State  Agricultural   Society,    Transactions,    13:    530,    also 
for  a  summary  of  the  history  of  industrial  education  in  New  York. 


Beginning  Struggle  for  Industrial  Education  5 

In  that  year  a  number  of  men  residing  in  the  city  of  New 
York  and  vicinity  endeavored  to  persuade  the  legislature  to 
endow  an  agricultural  college  and  to  locate  it  near  the  metrop- 
olis. A  committee  on  agriculture  of  the  New  York  assembly 
in  a  report  on  the  project  acknowledged  that  it  was  aware 
"that  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  college  and  experi- 
mental farm  has  been  often  talked  of,  and  we  suppose  may  be 
consonant  to  the  views  of  many  distinguished  individuals,  and 
may  have  become  a  favorite  scheme  with  a  respectable  class  of 
farmers  in  the  State.  "^  The  committee  managed,  however,  as 
buildings  and  farms  cost  so  much  more  than  words,  to  avoid 
the  expense  which  would  follow  upon  granting  the  request  by 
adroitly  noting  "that  it  partakes  too  much  of  a  local  and  spe- 
cial nature."  Therefore,  the  society  in  1847  passed  a  resolution 
recommending  to  the  consideration  of  the  legislature  the  pro- 
priety of  making  reasonable  appropriations  for  the  establish- 
ment of  agricultural  schools  and  colleges  connected  with  exper- 
imental farms.  In  the  discussion  that  followed,  Mr.  Chandler 
of  New  York  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  men  were  then 
sending  their  sons  to  Scotland  to  get  the  practical  education 
that  could  be  obtained  at  home  in  an  institution  such  as  that 
contemplated  by  the  resolution. 

From  1848  on,  speakers  before  the  New  York  agricultural 
society  began  to  outline  in  more  or  less  detail  their  ideas  as  to 
the  kind  of  an  agricultural  school  or  college  that  they  would 
like  to  see  organized  and  established.  The  notion  had  so  far 
progressed  as  to  be  admitted  into  the  circle  of  respectable  pro- 
posals; the  question  now  was  how  to  express  it  practically  in 
bricks  and  mortar,  land  and  men. 

Rev,  Samuel  Luckey  was  one  of  the  pioneers  who  gave 
freely  of  time  and  thought  to  the  subject.  He  advocated 
schools,  not  colleges,  and  with  the  object  of  saving  expense,  he 
advised  that  they  be  located  near  seminaries  though  in  no 
way  connected  with  them.  Others  advocated  the  establishment 
of  departments  for  the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  colleges 
already  organized.  Still  others  stood  stanch  for  new  colleges, 
organized  for  the  express  purpose  of  teaching  farmers. 
*Ibid.,  7 :  p.  xxiii. 


6  History  University  of  Illinois 

"We  have  in  the  record  of  the  meeting  of  the  New  York 
agricultural  society,  September,  1849,  the  views  of  two  men 
well  kno^vn  in  their  day  as  promoters  of  the  best  in  agriculture. 
Professor  John  P.  Norton  of  Yale  college  stated  that  for  two 
or  three  years  he  had  been  engaged  in  giving  instruction  in 
scientific  agriculture  and  he  had  found  that  the  great  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  improvements  in  farming  arose  from  the  fact  that 
the  farmers  thought  they  knew  as  much  as  was  necessary.  One 
can  fairly  hear  the  weary  sigh  he  drew  as  he  said  it,  the  sigh 
that  so  many  have  drawn  since  his  day.  Professor  Norton 
went  on  to  say  that  in  the  state  of  Connecticut  three-fourths  of 
the  legislators  were  farmers ;  yet  it  was  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty that  a  small  appropriation  had  been  procured  for  the  fur- 
therance of  agricultural  knowledge.  The  theory  that  the 
farmers  knew  enough  already  was  disputed  by  the  soil  itself, 
for  in  many  parts  of  the  country  it  had  deteriorated  shamefully 
under  the  established  methods  of  farming.  As  for  a  plan  for 
bringing  about  general  agricultural  education,  Professor  Nor- 
ton said  he  had  none.  The  one  thing  which  he  declared  he  un- 
equivocally favored  was  that,  by  some  means  or  other,  edu- 
cation should  be  made  possible  for  the  farmer. 

Three  years  later  Professor  Norton  speaking  before  the 
same  society  had  a  plan  to  offer.  But  it  was  not  one  that  ap- 
pealed widely  for  it  proposed  that  agricultural  education  be 
made  merely  a  department  "hitched  to"  a  private  institution. 
The  popular  mind  always  seemed  to  sense  that  such  a  "hitch- 
ing" would  have  no  more  chance  of  developing  a  unique  and 
significant  type  of  agricultural  education  than  the  family  cow 
would  have  of  developing  a  unique  and  significant  trotting  rec- 
ord by  being  hitched  to  a  racing  sulkey. 

Following  Professor  Norton  at  the  September  meeting  in 
1849  was  Daniel  Lee  of  Georgia.  He  said  the  great  difficulty 
was  that  they  were  divided  on  the  subject  of  how  agricultural 
instruction  should  be  offered.  Some  desired  one  school,  some 
three,  some  eight,  and  some  one  in  every  county,  "and  in  this 
way  they  accomplished  nothing." 

At  this  very  time,  however,  certain  practical  advocates  of  ag- 
ricultural education  were  making  earnest  efforts  to  get  the 


Beginning  Struggle  for  Industrial  Education  7 

state  to  establish  an  agricultural  college  and  experiment  farm. 
In  his  annual  message  to  the  legislature,  January,  1849,  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton  Fish  of  New  York  recommended  the  endow- 
ment by  the  state  of  an  agricultural  college  and  a  school  for 
instruction  in  the  mechanical  arts.  The  agricultural  society 
heartily  approved  this  recommendation  and  under  the  presi- 
dency of  John  A,  King,  it  presented  during  the  year  1849,  a 
valuable  report  to  the  legislature  in  which  were  embodied  the 
outlines  of  a  plan  for  instruction.  It  suggested  the  appoint- 
ment by  the  governor  of  a  board  of  commissioners  to  mature  a 
plan  for  an  agricultural  college  and  experimental  farm  to  be 
submitted  by  the  governor  to  the  legislature  at  its  next  session. 
The  commissioners  were  appointed,  the  governor  did  his  part, 
a  house  committee  reported  favorably  but  no  action  was  taken 
on  the  bill.  The  friends  of  agricultural  education  were  bitterly 
disappointed.  In  1850  the  matter  was  again  urged  and  again 
the  legislature  solved  the  problem  in  a  way  satisfactory  to  itself 
by  merely  omitting  all  action.  The  year  1851  almost  brought 
success — it  seemed  that  the  "great  idea"  was  to  be  given  a 
body  at  last.  The  people  were  heartily  in  favor,  the  farmers 
were  becoming  alive  to  the  need  of  the  proposed  instruction; 
but  again  the  bill  was  lost,  defeated  by  a  single  vote,^ 

For  a  decade  the  New  York  agricultural  society  and  the 
friends  of  agricultural  education  in  the  state  had  labored  in  the 
cause.  And  there  was  no  more  tangible  evidence  that  they 
were  nearer  a  state  college  or  school  of  agriculture  than  when 
they  had  begun. 

The  new  instruction  in  subjects  pertaining  to  agriculture 
was  early  present  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens  of  Massachusetts, 
An  expression  of  this  need  is  found  as  early  as  1796  in  the  pub- 
lished proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  society  for  promoting 
agriculture. 

By  1840  various  private  schools  of  secondary  grade  had 
been  established  for  the  teaching  of  agriculture.  Some  of  them 
continued  for  many  years  to  offer  instruction  in  sciences  that 
were  able  to  help  reveal  the  possibilities  of  the  earth,  but  there 
was  no  college  of  agriculture. 

'Ibid.,  13:  532. 


8  History  University  of  Illinois 

In  1845  a  committee  on  agriculture  of  the  legislature  said 
in  reporting  on  a  petition  for  the  incorporation  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts academy  of  agriculture:  "We  are  not  informed  of 
more  than  one  professor  of  agriculture  in  all  the  colleges  of 
New  England."  The  one  referred  to  was  probably  the  lecture- 
ship on  agricultural  chemistry  and  mineralogy  held  by  Charles 
U.  Shepard  in  Amherst  college  according  to  catalog  18-43-1844 
of  that  institution. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  Massachusetts  had  no  state  agri- 
cultural society,  no  such  consistent  and  unified  effort  to  ob- 
tain an  agricultural  college  is  found,  as  has  been  noted  in  New 
York.  In  1845  the  legislature  had  passed  **  An  act  to  incorpo- 
rate the  Massachusetts  academy  of  agriculture."  It  was  to  be 
an  institution  of  secondary  grade  authorized  to  hold  real  es- 
tate to  be  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  education.  Again  in  1848 
the  legislature  passed  an  act  incorporating  the  Massachusetts 
agricultural  institute,  an  institution  similar  to  the  one  proposed 
in  1845. 

Public  mention  of  the  advisability  of  establishing  an  agri- 
cultural college  in  Massachusetts  was  made  in  an  address  be- 
fore the  Norfolk  agricultural  society  by  Marshall  P.  "Wilder 
in  1849.  The  idea  did  not  have  to  wait  for  advocates.  The  very 
next  year  definite  action  M^as  undertaken. 

On  January  8,  1850,  Governor  George  N.  Briggs  in  his  in- 
augural address  expressed  his  interest  in  agricultural  education 
and  recommended  legislative  aid  for  it.  The  subject  was  taken 
up  immediately  by  the  senate  and  referred  to  the  committee 
on  agriculture.  Memorials  and  petitions  from  various  agricul- 
tural societies  of  Massachusetts  were  received  by  the  committee 
in  behalf  of  such  action.  On  January  31  a  joint  committee  of  the 
legislature  presented  a  full  report  on  the  subject.  The  report 
advised  the  appointment  of  a  board  of  five  commissioners  who 
should  consider  the  expediency  of  establishing  an  agricultural 
college,  an  agricultural  department  of  the  state  government, 
and  of  appropriating  lands  of  the  commonwealth  for  the  general 
purposes  of  education.  The  report,  which  contained  five  reso- 
lutions, was  recommended  for  adoption  and  on  May  3,  1850,  was 
approved  by  the  governor  after  the  most  serious  consideration. 


Beginning  Struggle  for  Industrial  Education  9 

The  commissioners  sent  one  of  their  number,  President 
Edward  Hitchcock  of  Amherst,  to  Europe  to  investigate  agri- 
cultural schools.  In  1851  they  had  ready  a  voluminous  report 
to  the  legislature.  It  included  the  results  of  President  Hitch- 
cock's investigations  together  with  various  suggestions  of  their 
own.  Among  other  recommendations  was  one  that  proposed  the 
appropriation  by  the  legislature  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  central  agricultural  college  with 
a  model  and  experimental  farm.  The  twenty  thousand  dollars 
of  public  money,  however,  Avas  not  to  be  drawn  upon  until  a 
similar  amount  was  raised  by  private  donation.  At  that  session 
the  state  senate  passed  a  bill  to  found  such  an  institution  but 
when  the  matter  came  up  in  the  house  it  was  defeated. 

Thus  we  see  that  in  another  state  the  only  progress  that 
had  been  made  by  1851  was  in  the  awakening  of  the  minds  of 
the  people.  They  had  learned  to  accept  the  idea  but  not  to 
grant  it  their  money  to  put  into  bricks  and  men. 

At  Harvard  a  professorship  in  the  application  of  science 
to  the  useful  arts  had  been  established;  but  it  did  little  or 
nothing  for  agricultural  education,  though  a  worthy  future 
awaited  it  for  it  developed  into  a  great  scientific  school. 

In  Michigan  the  need  of  instruction  in  agriculture  was 
recognized  at  an  early  date.  The  act  incorporating  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  in  1837  made  provision  for  it.  But  it  was 
an  act  that  did  not  function.  It  proved  what  Jonathan  B. 
Turner  of  Illinois  contended  a  little  later:  that  attempting  to 
attach  a  department  of  agriculture  to  an  educational  institution 
of  the  accepted  type  had  no  chance  of  success. 

Not  until  the  farmers  of  Michigan  about  1847  became 
acutely  conscious  of  the  need  of  special  education  w^as  anything 
done.  It  was  the  farmers  through  their  societies  and  publica- 
tions that  kept  the  subject  of  agricultural  education  vigorously 
before  the  public.  The  Michigan  state  agricultural  society  was 
a  powerful  force  in  these  early  years  of  agitation,  and  two  men 
Joseph  R.  Williams  and  J.  C.  Holmes,  stand  out  as  prominent 
in  the  work  of  establishing  agricultural  education.  Direct  and 
able,  they  were  tireless  in  their  chosen  cause  of  bringing  within 


10  History  University  of  Illinois 

reach  of  the  sons  of  the  soil  an  education  that  would  lead  to 
an  understanding  of  the  soil. 

A  convention  met  in  Lansing,  June  3,  1850,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revising  the  state  constitution.  In  the  revised  consti- 
tution is  found  the  following  provision:  "The  Legislature 
shall  encourage  the  promotion  of  intellectual,  scientific,  and 
agricultural  improvement,  and  shall  as  soon  as  practicable  pro- 
vide for  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  school. 

"The  Legislature  may  appropriate  the  twenty-two  sections 
of  Salt  Springs  lands  now  unappropriated,  or  the  money  arising 
from  the  sale  of  the  same,  when  such  lands  have  been  already 
sold,  and  any  land  which  may  hereafter  be  granted  or  appro- 
priated for  such  purpose  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of 
such  school,  and  may  make  the  same  a  branch  of  the  University, 
for  instruction  in  agriculture  and  the  natural  sciences  con- 
nected therewith,  and  place  the  same  under  the  supervision  of 
the  regents  of  the  University, '  '^ 

Thus  provision  that  could  not  be  disregarded  was  made. 
It  took  the  legislature  five  years  to  move  in  response  to  this 
provision  but  finally  in  1855  it  passed  the  act  that  resulted  in 
the  opening  of  an  agricultural  college  in  1857.  Thus  the  first 
state  agricultural  college  in  the  United  States  was  opened  for 
work. 

The  period  1840-1850  found  Illinois  still  a  frontier  state. 
The  citizens  of  an  undeveloped  country  are  not  likely  to  form 
themselves  into  societies  and  clubs.  New  settlers  usually  find  that 
warding  off  stai-vation,  cold,  disease,  and  storm  occupies  them 
completely.  Yet  the  vigorous  men  who  first  came  to  till  the  soil 
of  IlKnois  were  early  alive  to  the  benefits  of  cooperation.  In 
1842,  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  agricultural  societies 
had  been  organized  in  nineteen  counties.  Most  of  them  held 
annual  meetings  connected  with  cattle  shows  and  fairs  during 
the  autumn  of  the  year.  There  was  also  the  Union  agricul- 
tural society  embracing  within  its  corporate  limits  nine  coun- 

*Beal,  History  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  1:6.  Albert  E. 
Macomber,  an  early  friend  of  J.  R.  Williams,  claims  that  the  latter  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  provision  in  the  constitution  which  provided  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  agricultural  college,  ibid.,  36. 


Beginning  Struggle  for  Industrial  Education  11 

ties  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state.  It  was  organized  in 
1841  and  by  the  next  year  had  a  membership  of  several  hundred. 
At  its  fair  held  in  the  village  of  Aurora  in  October,  1842,  from 
five  to  seven  thousand  people  congregated  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  witness  the  exhibition.  At  this  time  twenty-eight  coun- 
ties having  more  than  two-fifths  of  the  population  of  Illinois, 
were  embraced  within  the  limits  of  agricultural  societies.''^ 

An  important  project  was  begun  at  this  time  by  the  Union 
agricultural  society:  it  was  the  permanent  establishment  of  a 
farm  paper,  the  Union  Agricidturalist  and  Westej-n  Prairie 
Farmer.  After  1842  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Prairie 
Farmer,  and  as  such  it  has  flourished  to  the  present  day. 

Three  years  later  an  attempt  was  made  to  create  the  Illinois 
state  agricultural  society.  The  plan  apparently  was  to  transform 
the  Sangamon  county  agricultural  society  into  a  state  society. 
Sangamon  county  included  the  state  capital,  Springfield,  and  it 
was  thought  that  when  the  legislature  was  in  session  the  agricul- 
tural society  could  hold  evening  sessions  and  procure  the  atten- 
dance of  the  117  farmer  members  of  the  legislature  as  well  as 
that  of  other  men  of  note  who  would  give  addresses  and  confer 
high  prestige  upon  the  organization.^  In  this  plan  they  were 
frankly  copying  the  ''agricultural  conversations"  of  the  New 
York  and  the  Massachusetts  societies.  The  state  society,  how- 
ever, seems  to  have  exhausted  its  energy  in  producing  a  consti- 
tution and  electing  officers. 

Through  the  ensuing  years  up  to  1850  there  was  an  earnest 
interest  in  agricultural  education.  It  was  clear  that  a  plan  for 
such  an  education  had  to  be  formulated  because  the  time  was 
coming  when  people  would  demand  that  their  sons  be  offered  the 
opportunity  to  obtain  wisdom  of  the  soil.  The  Prairie  Farmer 
was  constantly  on  the  alert  for  practical  proposals  and  one  plan 
after  another  was  brought  from  under  the  bushel  and  the  light 
of  earnest,  intelligent  criticism  turned  on  it.  Some  proposals 
showed  themselves  not  American,  hence  doomed  to  failure.  Pro- 
fessor Ebenezer  Emmons  of  Albany,  New  York,  declared  in  the 
Prairie  Farmer  for  June,  1849 :  ' '  Certainly  an  American  school 

Trairie  Farmer,  January,  1843. 
'Prairie  Farmer,  January,  1843. 


12  History  University  of  Illinois 

in  Europe  would  overthrow  any  of  their  governments,  and  a 
European  school  here  would  work  us  backward.  Our  systems 
of  education  must  be  devised  with  reference  to  our  circumstances, 
our  government,  and  our  social  relations." 

Emmons  added  still  another  point :  ' '  Our  plan,  whatever  it 
may  be,  must  be  economical,  and  if  it  be  designed  to  exert  a  wide- 
spread influence,  tuition  must  be  abolished.  Instruction  must 
be  as  free  as  it  is  possible  to  make  it. ' '  This  certainly  is  definitely 
feeling  after  agricultural  education  at  government  expense. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  note  that  as  early  as  1848,  an  Illi- 
nois man.  Professor  Jonathan  B.  Turner  of  Illinois  college,  in  a 
letter  to  President  Blanchard  of  Knox  college,  had  formulated  an 
outline  for  agricultural  education.  He  later  abandoned  the  main 
idea  expressed  in  this  outline,  which  was  that  agricultural  in- 
struction should  be  connected  with  a  classical  school.  Neverthe- 
less his  proposal  shows  in  certain  respects  so  much  foresight, 
sagacity,  and  enthusiastic  common  sense  that  it  cannot  be  passed 
without  comment.  It  certainly  was  definite  prophecy  of  the 
significant  part  Turner  was  to  play  in  the  establishment  of  agri- 
cultural education.  Of  his  ideas  he  says :  "  It  is  true  that  they 
may  not  be  worth  either  writing  or  reading,  but  still  as  the  thing 
is  evidently  new,  someone  must  run  the  hazard  of  exposing  his 
folly  by  making  suggestions — and  I  know  of  no  one  who  has  a 
greater  capital  in  that  line  to  spare  than  myself."^ 

He  advocated:  "1.  A  professor  of  chemistry,  2.  a  professor 
of  botany,  3.  a  professor  of  what — the  green  earth?"  A  deli- 
cious touch  that — revealing  the  imagination  and  humor  which, 
united  with  sterner  qualities,  enabled  him  to  fight  so  gallantly 
in  his  chosen  cause. 

The  first  two  professors  would,  of  course,  already  be  on  the 
faculty  of  the  classical  school,  but  the  third,  he  of  the  "what — 
the  green  earth  ? ' '  would  be  an  addition,  and  Turner  by  no  means 
proposed  that  life  for  him  should  be  a  bed  of  roses.  "Let  him," 
Turner  advised  in  speaking  of  the  model  farm,  "purchase  the 
farm  himself  and  put  the  buildings,  fences,  etc.,  on  it  accord- 
ing to  his  own  notion.    While  he  was  doing  this  and  arranging 

"Turner  to  Blanchard,  undated  but  known  to  be  1848  from  Blanchard 's 
letter  in  reply.     Turner  manuscripts,  see  appendix,  p.  357. 


Beginning  Struggle  for  Industrial  Education  13 

his  affairs  he  Avould  have  to  struggle  hard  with  much  to  do  and 
little  to  show  but  his  bills  of  expense." 

However,  Turner  felt  that  if  the  professor  escaped  starva- 
tion or  death  from  anxiety,  his  v/ork  would  be  thoroughly  worth 
while  and  in  time  even  yield  him  a  good  living.  ' '  I  would  put 
no  public  funds,"  he  continued,  ''into  the  professor's  hands 
(certainly  none  beyond  the  original  outfit)  to  squander  in  day 
dreaming  and  absurd  speculations.  I  would  have  every  new  ex- 
periment bear  directly  on  his  own  private  purse  so  that  it  might 
be  made  economically  as  well  as  carefully.  You  may  say  that 
this  would  defeat  all  experimenting.  But  I  think  not,  for  you 
must  find  a  man  for  such  a  place  whose  natural  love  of  experi- 
menting and  observing  would  impell  him  to  it  wherever  he  was 
and  at  whatever  cost — no  other  man  would  be  likely  to  accom- 
plish anything  anyhow. ' ' 

President  Blanchard  in  reply  to  this  acknowledged  that  he 
pined  for  a  professorship  of  the  "blessed  green  earth."  But  he 
did  not  see  his  way  to  acquiring  the  funds  for  establishing  such 
a  professorship.!*^ 

There  was  little  in  these  ideas  of  Jonathan  B.  Turner  to  rec- 
ommend them  as  a  plan  for  building  up  an  industrial  university 
for  a  great  state.  They  were  significant  merely  as  showing  tiie 
beginning  of  his  constructive  thinking  along  these  lines.  Fortu- 
nately for  his  reputation  he  did  not  stop  here.  With  keen  eyes 
and  a  keen  mind  he  watched  the  progress  of  this  movement 
throughout  the  country  and  became  convinced  apparently  that 
the  ideas  he  had  held  were  entirely  wrong  or  inadequate.  Three 
years  later  he  will  be  found  advocating  a  plan  that  is  radically 
different  in  nearly  every  particular. 

"Blanchard  to  Turner,  October  19,  1848,  Turner  manuscripts. 


14  History  University  of  Illinois 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  ILLINOIS  PLAN  FOR  A  SYSTEM  OF  LAND  GRANT 

COLLEGES 

In  1849  Daniel  Lee  of  Georgia  told  the  New  York  agricul- 
tural society  that  up  to  then  nothing  had  been  done  in  any  quar- 
ter that  shoAved  promise  of  resulting  in  a  college  of  agriculture 
and  of  the  mechanic  arts.     The  facts  made  dispute  impossible. 

For  two  years  so  far  as  actual  achievement  was  concerned, 
the  situation  remained  essentially  unchanged.  Then,  on  the 
eighteenth  day  of  November,  1851,  a  definite,  vigorous  movement, 
was  begun  in  Illinois  for  the  higher  education  of  the  working 
classes.  The  leaders  of  the  movement  in  Illinois  had  been  watch- 
ing the  movements  in  other  states.  They  felt  that  they  knew 
precisely  why  the  efforts  in  Massachusetts  and  New  York  to  get 
state  aid  for  agricultural  colleges  had  just  been  defeated;  why 
the  founding  of  professorships  in  applied  sciences  at  Yale  and 
Harvard  had  failed  to  appeal  to  the  agriculturists  of  the  country. 

In  fact  the  Illinois  men  were  inclined  to  view  these  professor- 
ships satirically.  Said  the  editor  of  the  Prairie  Farmer,  the 
leading  state  agricultural  paper  published  in  Chicago:  "That 
was  a  sort  of  'backfiring'  such  as  is  practiced  upon  the  prairies 
when  the  burning  grass  is  too  tall  and  dry,  and  so  far  as  we 
know  amounts  to  little  or  nothing  in  meeting  the  demand." 
Jonathan  B.  Turner  was  still  more  vigorous  in  his  sarcasm: 
' '  They  have  hauled  a  canoe  alongside  of  their  huge  professional 
steamships  and  invited  all  the  farmers  and  mechanics  of  the  State 
to  jump  on  board  and,  sail  with  them ;  but  the  difficulty  is,  they 
will  not  embark.  But  we  thank  them  even  for  this  pains  and 
courtesy.  It  shows  that  their  hearts  are  yearning  toward  us, 
notwithstanding  the  ludicrous  awkwardness  of  their  first  endeav- 
ors to  save  us."i 

The  sarcasm  of  the  Illinois  men  was  not  that  of  mere  scof- 
fers or  of  the  ignorant.     They  had  acquainted  themselves  with 

^Turner,  A  Plan  for  an  Industrial  University,  8. 


"  We  must  beware  of  that  servile  curse  of  sheer  imitation,   which 
has  killed  all  our  old  agricultural  schools." 

"A  similar  scheme  of  education  was  never  before  proposed  to  the 
mind  of  man  in  this  countrg  or  ang  other." 

"Whg  not  set  ourselves  about  it  like  men,  and  institute  such  means, 
and  only  such  means,  as  are  adapted  to  our  ends." 

J.  B.  TURNER. 


sAj  oi  b920c\onq  stoXad  laosn  ed<u  r\o\JDouV)3  \o  ^m9Ao^  noVimig  h." 

".■\9Alo  (jTiD  lo  (j-\inuoo  ^>A^  m  nnm  \o  bmm 
,2nD9ni  i\ouz9Suiii2m\jnD,n9m  aAW  VtJuodo  aaoWiuo  Jse  ion  (jAV<" 

".2bn9  •\uo  oi  Vi9lqD\)D  sad  8d  ,8r«D9m  Aoua  (i\no  Vino 


Jonathan  Baldwin  Turner 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  15 

the  work  in  other  states,  anxiously,  thoroughly,  hoping  for  light. 
When  they  found  light,  they  had  thankfully  appropriated  it,  in 
some  cases  they  had  emulated  methods  employed  in  New  York 
and  Massachusetts.  They  were  well  acquainted  with  existing 
conditions  therefore  when  they  declared  that  up  to  1851  little  or 
nothing  of  real  consequence  to  the  cause  of  industrial  education 
had  been  accomplished. 

This  was  the  situation  when  in  accordance  with  a  call  by  the 
Buel  institute,  which  was  an  agricultural  society  with  members 
from  Putnam  and  five  other  counties  of  north  central  Illinois,  a 
convention  of  farmers  met  at  Grranville,  Putnam  county,  Illinois, 
on  Tuesday  the  18th  of  November,  1851.^  The  attendance,  made 
up  of  farmers  and  others,  was  reported  as  quite  large  and  from 
various  parts  of  the  state. 

The  convention  organized  with  the  following  permanent  offi- 
cers: Mr.  Oaks  Turner  of  Hennepin,  president;  Mr.  William 
Reddick  of  Ottawa  and  Mr.  J.  B.  Turner,  vice-presidents ;  Mr.  M. 
Osman  of  Ottawa,  recording  secretary ;  Mr.  Ralph  Ware  of  Gran- 
ville, corresponding  secretary.  The  discussions  held  in  the  after- 
noon were  spirited,  and  at  the  evening  session  a  committee  on 
business  of  which  J.  B.  Turner  was  chairman  reported  a  series  of 
five  resolutions  as  a  guide  for  the  future  action  of  tlie  conven- 
tion: 

"Resolved,  That  we  greatly  rejoice  in  the  degree  of  perfec- 
tion to  which  our  various  institutions,  for  the  education  of  our 
brethren  engaged  in  professional,  scientific,  and  literary  pursuits, 
have  already  attained,  and  in  the  mental  and  moral  elevation 
which  these  institutions  have  given  them,  and  their  consequent 
preparation  and  capacity  for  the  great  duties  in  the  spheres  of 
life  in  which  they  are  engaged ;  and  that  we  will  aid  in  all  ways 
consistent,  for  the  still  greater  perfection  of  such  institutions. 

"Resolved,  That  as  the  representatives  of  the  industrial 
classes,  including  all  cultivators  of  the  soil,  artisans,  mechanics 


^At  its  fair  in  September,  1851,  the  Buel  institute  detennined  to  hold  a 
farmers '  convention  at  Granville  in  November,  ' '  to  take  into  consideration 
such  measures  as  might  be  deemed  expedient  to  further  the  interests  of  the 
agricultural  community,  and  particularly  to  take  steps  toward  the  establish- 
ment of  an  Agricultural  University."  Illinois  School  Beport,  1886-1888, 
p.  cxix. 


16  History  Univcrsily  of  Illinois 

and  merchants,  we  desire  the  same  privileges  and  advantages  for 
ourselves,  our  fellows  and  our  posterity,  in  each  of  our  several 
pursuits  and  callings,  as  our  professional  brethren  enjoy  in 
theirs ;  and  we  admit  that  it  is  our  own  fault  that  we  do  not  also 
enjoy  them. 

'' Resolved,  That,  in  our  opinion,  the  institutions  originally 
and  primarily  designed  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  professional 
classes  as  such,  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things,  meet  ours,  no 
more  than  the  institutions  we  desire  to  establish  for  ourselves 
could  meet  theirs.     Therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  we  take  immediate  measures  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  University,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  expressly  to 
meet  those  felt  wants  of  each  and  all  the  industrial  classes  of  our 
State;  that  we  recommend  the  foundation  of  high  schools, 
lyceums,  institutes,  etc.,  in  each  of  our  counties,  on  similar  prin- 
ciples, so  soon  as  they  may  find  it  practicable  so  to  do. 

"Resolved,  That  in  our  opinion  such  institutions  can  never 
impede,  but  must  greatly  promote,  the  best  interests  of  all  those 
existing  institutions. '  '^ 

It  should  be  noted  that  Turner  and  his  committee  specifi- 
cally stated  that  they  were  not  opposing  existing  colleges  and 
professional  schools,  that  they  were  merely  asking  that  the  bene- 
fits of  science  be  made  as  available  to  the  man  engaged  in  indus- 
trial pursuits  as  to  the  professional  man.  A  practical  plan  for 
placing  these  benefits  at  the  disposal  of  the  industrial  classes  must 
be  formulated.  Turner  was  ready  with  it.  "After  reading  the 
above  resolutions, ' '  wrote  the  committee  which  later  published  a 
report  of  this  meeting,  ' '  Professor  Turner  proceeded,  in  an  able 
and  interesting  manner,  to  unfold  his  plan  for  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  an  Industrial  University."^ 

Turner's  speech  upon  this  subject  was  later  published  under 
the  title,  ' '  Plan  for  an  Industrial  University  for  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois."  It  gave  his  ideas  not  only  upon  proper  industrial  educa- 
tion for  his  own  state  but  advanced  a  system  of  national  educa- 


'Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People,  16. 

^Turner  had  been  invited  to  attend  this  meeting  and  to  assist  in  the 
establishment  of  "an  agi-icultural  school  or  agricultural  department  in  some 
schools  in  Northern  Illinois."  Ware  to  Turner,  October  29,  1851,  Turner 
manuscripts. 


Sketch  of  Presbyterian  Church,  Granville,  111.,  in  which  was  held  the 
Farmers '  Convention  of  Nov.  18  and  19,  1851.  * '  To  take  into  consideration 
such  measures  as  might  be  deemed  most  expedient  to  further  the  interests 
of  the  Agricultural  Community,  and  especially  to  take  steps  towards  the 
establishment  of  an  Agricultural   University. ' ' 

President,  Oaks  Turner,  Hennepin,  111. 

Vice  Presidents,  William  Eeddick,  Ottawa,  111;  J.  B.  Turner,  Jack- 
sonville, 111. 

M.  OsMAN,  Ottawa,  Secretary. 

Ralph  Ware,  Gran\alle,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Also  the  building  in  which  the  2nd  Fair  of  the  Buel  Institute  was  held 
in  the  fall  of  1848. 

Some  of  the  men  who  organized  the  above  Institute  and  Fair  moved 
in  the  above  memorable  meeting  of  Xov.  18.51  were: 

Ralph  Ware,  Williamson  Durley,  Wm.  A.  Pennell,  William  Clarkson, 
Oaks  Turner,  John  Grable,  Elmer  Baldwin,  Jas.  G.  Laug'hlin,  L.  L.  Bullock, 
Wm.  Eeddick,  Wm.  Groom,  Sidney  Pulsifer,  Elder  Powell,  Thos.  Ware, 
Lewis  Weston. 


^^YEUD  ^i%n%^mrnA}^ 


The  Industrial  League  Design  that  was  devised  by  Murray 
AND  Turner  and  used  on  the  Certificates  of  Membership 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  17 

tion  which  included  a  university  for  the  industrial  classes  in  each 
of  the  states!  of  the  American  union.  This  plan,  which  was  des- 
tined to  play  so  notable  a  role  in  the  fight  for  industrial  univer- 
sities, was  not  the  result  of  hasty  consideration.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  he  had  been  turning  over  in  his  mind  the  educa- 
tional needs  of  Illinois.  He  had  given  public  expression  to  his 
views  on  education  a  year  or  more  previous  to  the  Granville  con- 
vention at  a  Pike  county  teachers '  institute  and  probably  also  at 
a  public  meeting  in  Griggsville.^  In  speaking  of  these  earlier 
meetings  some  fifteen  years  later,  Turner  said  that  so  far  as  he 
was  aware  it  was  the  first  time  that  such  a  scheme  of  public 
education  was  ever  proposed  to  mankind. 

He  himself  was  astonished  at  the  reception  his  ideas  were 
accorded  by  the  teachers.  He  had  searched  patiently  for  these 
ideas  in  the  field  and  in  the  classroom,  in  the  workshop  and  in 
the  home.  To  him  they  were  truth,  that  was  all.  But  among  his 
hearers  were  those  who  accepted  them  joyfully,  almost  hyster- 
ically, like  something  on  the  order  of  salvation  long  sought  and 
finally  found ;  and  others,  particularly  in  the  months  following 
the  Granville  meeting,  who  rejected  them  frantically,  vehemently 
"assailed,  ridiculed,  and  denounced  them  as  absurd,  revolu- 
tionary, disorganizing,  and  above  all  utterly  visionary  and  hope- 
less, even  if  desirable. '  '^ 

For  many  years  Turner  had  been  oppressed  with  a  sense  of 


'^There  has  been  considerable  confusion  regarding  the  exact  date  of  these 
addresses.  In  1865  Turner  stated  that  they  were  delivered  ' '  about  the  year 
1848  or  1849. ' '  Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5 :  36. 
Paul  Selby,  a  friend  of  Turner,  in  a  letter  to  W.  L.  Pillsbury  expresses  the 
opinion  that  the  date  was  1850.  Mrs.  Carriel  gives  the  text  of  an  address 
delivered  by  Turner  as  president  of  the  Illinois  teachers  institute  at  Griggs- 
ville,  May  13,  1850.  Carriel,  Life  of  Turner,  74-94.  There  was  a  meeting 
of  the  Pike  county  institute  in  Griggsville  on  this  day  but  its  printed  pro- 
ceedings make  no  mention  of  Turner.  Moreover,  the  Pike  County  Free  Press 
does  not  even  refer  to  the  meeting  of  the  teachers'  institute  at  that  time. 
It  would  seem  that  Mrs.  Carriel  mistook  the  Granville  for  the  Griggsville 
address,  for  the  quotation  from  the  speech  contains  an  extract  from  the 
Prairie  Farmer  that  did  not  appear  until  the  issue  for  November,  1851. 
Without  doubt  Turner  spoke  before  the  Pike  county  teachers'  institute  at 
Barry  later  in  the  year.  Pike  Coamty  Free  Press,  October  24,  1850.  Although 
the  Free  Press  does  not  record  the  fact  it  is  possible  that  he  may  have  ad- 
dressed a  public  meeting  in  Griggsville  on  his  way  home. 

^Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transaetions.  5 :  36. 


18  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  inadequacy  of  the  existing  systems  of  popular  education.  It 
was  as  if  the  problem  was  put  to  him  for  solution  and  either  he 
must  succeed  or  all  must  suffer.  The  attitude  of  the  teachers 
who  heard  his  plan  encouraged  him  to  continue  thinking  along 
the  line  of  national  education.  In  fact  for  a  year  and  more 
before  the  Granville  address  he  was  preparing  for  it,  all  the  more 
effectively  because  most  of  the  preparation  was  unconscious.'^ 
He  was  thinking  because  he  must  think,  therefore  when  the  great 
opportunity  came  at  Granville  he  was  able  to  propose  a  new 
system  wholly  outside  of  existing  ones  and  based  upon  the  theory 
that  unity  of  empire  among  a  free  people  implies  unity  of  educa- 
tional plans  and  efforts.  Inasmuch  as  no  public  action  followed 
his  addresses  in  Pike  county,  it  seems  a  right  placing  of  emphasis 
to  date  the  Illinois  movement  for  a  system  of  industrial  univer- 
sities from  the  Granville  convention  November  18,  1851,  where 
Turner  presented  his  plan  and  secured  effective  action. 

In  his  address,  beginning  with  the  assumption  that  society  is 
divided  necessarily  into  two  distinct  cooperative,  not  antagonistic 
classes,  for  convenience  designated  the  professional  and  the  in- 
dustrial ;  not  implying  that  each  may  not  be  equally  industrious, 
the  speaker  continued: 

''The  vast  difference,  in  the  practical  means,  of  an  appro- 
priate LIBERAL  EDUCATION,  suitcd  to  their  wants  and  their  des- 
tiny, which  these  two  classes  enjoy,  and  ever  have  enjoyed  the 
world  over,  must  have  arrested  the  attention  of  every  thinking 
man.  True,  the  same  general  abstract  science  exists  in  the  world 
for  both  classes  alike;  but  the  means  of  bringing  this  abstract 
truth  into  effectual  contact  with  the  daily  business  and  pursuits 
of  the  one  class  does  exist,  while  in  the  other  case  it  does  not 
exist,  and  never  can  till  it  is  new  created. 

The  one  class  have  schools,  seminaries,  colleges,  universities, 
apparatus,  professors,  and  multitudinous  appliances  for  educat- 
ing and  training  them  for  months  and  years,  for  the  peculiar 
profession  which  is  to  be  the  business  of  their  life ;  and  they  have 

'Early  in  1851  Turner  delivered  an  address  in  the  legislative  hall  at 
Springfield  in  which  he  outlined  his  plan  for  a  state  university.  The  Journal 
in  reporting  this  speech  advised  its  readers  to  request  Turner  to  deliver  it  in 
other  parts  of  the  state,     Illinois  Weekly  Journal,  February  12,  1851. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  19 

already  created,  each  class  for  its  own  use,  a  vast  and  voluminous 
literature,  that  would  well  nigh  sink  a  whole  navy  of  ships. 

But  where  are  the  universities,  the  apparatus,  the  professors, 
and  the  literature,  specifically  adapted  to  any  one  of  the  indus- 
trial classes?  Echo  answers,  where?  In  other  words,  society 
has  become,  long  since,  wise  enough  to  know  that  its  teachers 
need,'  to  be  educated ;  but  it  has  not  yet  become  wise  enough  to 
know  that  its  workers  need  education  just  as  much.  In  these 
remarks  I  have  not  forgotten  that  our  common  schools  are  equally 
adapted  and  applied  to  all  classes ;  but  reading,  writing,  etc.,  are, 
properly,  no  more  education  than  gathering  seed  is  agriculture, 
or  cutting  ship-timber  navigation. ' ' 

He  then  called  attention  to  the  futile  efforts  of  monarchs 
and  aristocrats  of  the  old  world  to  found  schools  for  the 
"fifteenth  cousins"  of  their  order  in  hopes  of  training  them  into 
a  sort  of  ' '  genteel  farmers ' '  or  rather  overseers  of  farmers ;  also 
to  the  useless  attempts  in  some  eastern  states  to  solve  the  whole 
problem  of  industrial  education  by  establishing  professorships  in 
applied  science  in  connection  with  existing  institutions. 

Failures  such  as  these,  the  speaker  said  could  be  avoided 
only  by  answering  two  pertinent  questions :  what  do  the  indus- 
trial classes  want  and  how  can  that  want  be  supplied. 

' '  They  want,  and  they  ought  to  have,  the  same  facilities  for 
understanding  the  true  philosophy — the  science  and  the  art  of 
their  several  pursuits,  (their  life-business,)  and  of  efficiently 
applying  existing  knowledge  thereto  and  widening  its  domain, 
which  the  professional  classes  have  long  enjoyed  in  their  pur- 
suits. ' ' 

"  . . . .  This  want  cannot  be  supplied  by  any  of  the  existing 
institutions  for  the  professional  classes,  nor  by  any  incidental 
appendage  attached  to  them  as  a  mere  secondary  department. 

These  institutions  were  designed  and  adapted  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  professional  classes,  as  such — especially  the  clerical 
order;  and  they  are  no  more  suited  to  the  real  wants  of  the  in- 
dustrial class  than  the  institution  we  propose  for  them,  would 
be  suited  to  the  professional  class. ' ' 

"The  industrial  classes  know  and  feel  this,  and  therefore 
they  do  not,  and  will  not,  patronize  these  institutions,  only  so  far 


20  History  University  of  Illinois 

forth  as  they  desire  to  make  professional  men  for  public  use.  As 
a  general  fact,  their  own  multitudes  do,  and  will  forever,  stand 
aloof  from  them ;  and,  while  they  desire  to  foster  and  cherish  them 
for  their  own  appropriate  uses,  they  know  that  they  do  not,  and 
cannot,  fill  the  sphere  of  their  own  urgent  industrial  wants. 
They  need  a  similar  system  of  liberal  education  for  their  own 
class,  and  adapted  to  their  own  pursuits ;  to  create  for  them  an 
INDUSTRIAL  LITERATURE,  adapted  to  their  professional  wants,  to 
raise  up  for  them  teacliers  and  lecturers,  for  subordinate  insti- 
tutes, and  to  elevate  them,  their  pursuits,  and  their  posterity  to 
that  relative  position  in  human  society  for  which  God  designed 
them." 

Turner  emphasized  the  fact  that  it  was  important  to  begin 
with  the  higher  institutions  and  pointed  out  that  the  failure  of 
many  schools  in  the  east  and  elsewhere  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  had  not  recognized  this  fundamental  truth. ' '  No  people  ever 
had,  or  even  can  have,  any  system  of  common  schools  and  lower 
seminaries  worth  anything,  until  they  first  founded  their  higher 
institutions  and  fountains  of  knowledge  from  which  they  could 
draw  supplies  of  teachers,  etc.,  for  the  lower.  We  would  begin, 
therefore,  where  all  experience  and  common  sense  show  that  we 
must  begin,  if  we  would  effect  anything  worthy  of  an  effort. 

' '  In  this  view  of  the  case,  the  first  thing  wanted  in  this  pro- 
cess, is  a  NATIONAL  INSTITUTE  of  SCIENCE,  to  Operate  as  the  great 
central  luminary  of  the  national  mind,  from  which  all  minor 
institutions  should  derive  light  and  heat,  and  toward  which  they 
should,  also,  reflect  back  their  own.  This  primary  want  is 
already,  I  trust,  supplied  by  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  endowed 
by  James  Smithson,  and  incorporated  by  the  U.  S.  Congress,  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 

' '  To  co-operate  with  this  noble  Institute,  and  enable  the  In- 
dustrial classes  to  realize  its  benefits  in  practical  life,  we  need  a 
University  for  the  Industrial  Classes  in  each  of  the  States,  with 
their  consequent  subordinate  institutes,  lyceums,  and  high 
schools,  in  each  of  the  counties  and  towns. ' ' 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  21 

PLAN  FOR  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY 

' '  There  should  be  connected  with  such  an  institution  in  this 
State  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  of  variable  soil  and  aspect,  for 
all  its  needful  annual  experiments  and  processes  in  the  great 
interests  of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture. 

"Buildings  of  appropriate  size  and  construction  for  all  its 
ordinary  and  special  uses;  a  complete  philosophical,  chemical, 
anatomical,  and  industrial  apparatus ;  a  general  cabinet,  embrac- 
ing everything  that  relates  to,  illustrates,  or  facilitates  any  one  of 
the  industrial  arts ;  especially  all  sorts  of  animals,  birds,  reptiles, 
insects,  trees,  shrubs,  and  plants  found  in  this  State  and  the 
adjacent  States. 

' '  Instruction  should  be  given  constantly  in  the  anatomy  and 
physiology,  the  nature,  instincts  and  habits  of  all  animals,  insects, 
trees,  and  plants;  their  laws  of  propagation,  primogeniture, 
growth,  and  decay,  disease  and  health,  life  and  death;  on  the 
nature,  composition,  adaptation,  and  regeneration  of  soils ;  on  the 
nature,  strength,  durability,  preservation,  perfection,  composi- 
tion, cost,  use,  and  manufacture  of  all  materials  of  art  and  trade ; 
on  political,  financial,  domestic,  and  manual  economy,  (or  the 
saving  of  labor  of  the  hand,)  in  all  industrial  processes;  on  the 
true  principles  of  national,  constitutional,  and  civil  law,  and  the 
true  theory  and  art  of  governing  and  controlling,  or  directing  the 
labor  of  men  in  the  State,  the  family,  shop  and  farm ;  on  the  laws 
of  vicinage,  or  the  laws  of  courtesy  and  comity  between  neigh- 
bors, as  such,  and  on  the  principles  of  health  and  disease  in  the 
human  subject,  so  far  at  least  as  is  needful  for  household  safety ; 
on  the  laws  of  trade  and  commerce,  ethical,  conventional  and 
practical;  the  book-keeping  and  accounts;  and,  in  short,  in  all 
those  studies  and  sciences,  of  whatever  sort,  which  tend  to  throw 
light  upon  any  art  or  employment,  which  any  student  may  desire 
to  master ;  or  upon  any  duty  he  may  be  called  to  perform ;  or 
which  may  tend  to  secure  his  moral,  civil,  social  and  industrial 
perfection  as  a  man. 

"No  species  of  knowledge  should  be  excluded,  practical  or 
theoretical;  unless,  indeed,  those  specimens  of  'organized  igno- 
rance' found  in  the  creeds  of  party  politicians,  and  sectarian 


22  History  University  of  Illinois 

ecclesiastics  should  be  mistaken  by  some  for  a  species  of  knowl- 
edge. 

"Whether  a  distinct  classical  department  should  be  added 
or  not,  would  depend  on  expediency.  It  might  be  deemed  best 
to  leave  that  department  to  existing  colleges  as  their  more  appro- 
priate work,  and  to  form  some  practical  and  economical  connec- 
tion with  them  for  that  purpose :  or  it  might  be  best  to  attach  a 
classical  department  in  due  time  to  the  institution  itself. 

"To  facilitate  the  increase  and  practical  application  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge,  the  professors  should  conduct,  each  in 
his  department,  a  continued  series  of  annual  experiments." 

* '  The  APPARATUS  required  for  such  a  work  is  obvious.  There 
should  be  grounds  devoted  to  a  botanical  and  common  garden, 
to  orchards  and  fruit  yards,  to  appropriate  lawns  and  prome- 
nades, in  which  the  beautiful  art  of  landscape  gardening  could 
be  appropriately  applied  and  illustrated,  to  all  varieties  of  pas- 
ture, meadow,  and  tillage  needful  for  the  successful  prosecution 
of  the  needful  annual  experiments.  And  on  these  grounds  should 
be  collected  and  exhibited  a  sample  of  every  variety  of  domestic 
animal,  and  of  every  tree,  plant,  and  vegetable  that  can  minister 
to  the  health,  wealth,  or  taste  and  comfort  of  the  people  of  the 
State;  their  nature,  habits,  merits,  production,  improvement, 
culture,  diseases,  and  accidents  thoroughly  scrutinized,  tested, 
and  made kiiown  to  the  students  and  to  the  people  of  the  State." 

"I  should  have  said,  also,  that  a  suitable  industrial  library 
should  be  at  once  procured,  did  not  all  the  world  know  such  a 
thing  to  be  impossible,  and  that  one  of  the  first  and  most 
important  duties  of  the  professors  of  such  institutions  will  be  to 
begin  to  create,  at  this  late  hour,  a  proper  practical  literature, 
and  series  of  text  books  for  the  industrial  classes. 

' '  As  regards  the  professors,  they  should,  of  course,  not  only 
be  men  of  the  most  eminent,  practical  ability  in  their  several 
departments,  but  their  connexion  with  the  institution  should  be 
rendered  so  fixed  and  stable  as  to  enable  them  to  carry  through 
such  designs  as  they  may  form  or  all  the  peculiar  benefits  of  the 
system  would  be  lost. 

"Instruction,  by  lectures  and  otherwise,  should  be  given 
mostly  in  the  colder  months  of  the  year ;  leaving  the  professors  to 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  23 

prosecute  their  investigations,  and  the  students  their  necessary 
labor,  either  at  home  or  on  the  premises,  during  the  warmer 
months. ' ' 

''At  some  convenient  season  of  the  year,  the  Commencement, 
or  ANNUAL  FAIR  of  the  University,  should  be  holden  through  a 
succession  of  days.  On  this  occasion  the  doors  of  the  institution, 
with  all  its  treasures  of  art  and  resources  of  knowledge,  should 
be  thrown  open  to  all  classes,  and  as  many  other  objects  of  agri- 
cultural or  mechanical  skill,  gathered  from  the  whole  state,  as 
possible,  and  presented  by  the  people  for  inspection  and  premium 

on  the  best  of  each  kind In  short,  this  occasion  should  be 

made  the  great  annual  gala-day  of  the  Institution,  and  of  all  the 
industrial  classes,  and  all  other  classes  in  the  State,  for  the  exhi- 
bition of  their  products  and  their  skill,  and  for  the  vigorous  and 
powerful  diffusion  of  practical  knowledge  in  their  ranks,  and  a 
more  intense  enthusiasm  in  its  extension  and  pursuit. 

"As  matters  now  are,  the  world  has  never  adopted  any  effi- 
cient means  for  the  application  and  diffusion  of  even  the  practical 
knowledge  which  does  exist.  True,  we  have  fairly  got  the 
primer,  the  spelling  book,  and  the  newspaper  abroad  in  the  world, 
and  we  think  that  we  have  done  wonders ;  and  so,  comparatively, 
we  have.  But  if  this  is  a  wonder,  there  are  still  not  only  won- 
ders, but,  to  most  minds,  inconceivable  miracles,  from  new  and 
unknown  worlds  of  light,  soon  to  break  forth  upon  the  industrial 
mind  of  the  world. ' ' 

"Such  institutions  are  the  only  possible  remedy  for  a  caste 
education,  legislation,  and  literature.  If  any  one  class  provide 
for  their  own^  liberal  education,  in  the  state,  as  they  should  do, 
while  another  class  neglect  this,  it  is  as  inevitable  as  the  law  of 
gravitation,  that  they  should  form  a  ruling  caste  or  class  by  them- 
selves, and  wield  their  power  more  or  less  for  their  own  exclusive 
interests  and  the  interests  of  their  friends. ' ' 

"But  can  such  an  institution  be  created  and  endowed? 
Doubtless  it  can  be  done,  and  done  at  once,  if  the  industrial 
classes  so  decide.  The  fund  given  to  this  state  by  the  general 
government,  expressly  for  this  purpose,  is  amply  sufficient,  with- 
out a  dollar  from  any  other  source ;  and  it  is  a  mean,  if  not  an 
illegal  perversion  of  this  fund  to  use  it  for  any  other  purpose. 


24  History  University  of  Illinois 

It  was  given  to  the  people,  the  whole  people  of  this  state — not 
for  a  class,  a  pai'ty,  or  sect,  or  conglomeration  of  sects ;  not  for 
common  schools,  or  family  schools;  or  classical  schools;  but  for 
'An  University,'  or  seminary  of  a  high  order,  in  which  should  of 
course  be  taught  all  those  things  which  every  class  of  citizens 
most  desire  to  learn — their  own  duty  and  business  for  life.  This, 
and  this  alone,  is  an  University  in  the  true  original  sense  of  the 
term.  And  if  an  Institution  which  teaches  all  that  is  needful 
only  for  the  three  professions  of  law,  divinity,  and  medicine,  is 
therefore,  an  University,  surely  one  which  teaches  all  that  is 
needful  for  all  the  varied  professions  of  human  life,  is  far  more 
deserving  of  the  name  and  the  endowment  of  an  University. 

"But  in  whose  hands  shall  the  guardianship  and  oversight 
of  this  fund  be  placed,  in  order  to  make  it  of  any  real  use  for 
such  a  purpose  ?  I  answer,  without  hesitation  and  without  fear, 
that  this  whole  interest  should,  from  the  first,  be  placed  directly 
in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  the  whole  people,  without  any 
mediators  or  advisors,  legislative  or  ecclesiastical,  save  only  their 
own  appointed  agents,  and  their  own  jurors  and  courts  of  justice, 
to  which,  of  course,  all  alike  must  submit."^ 

If  one  compares  Turner's  plan,  given  to  the  public  in  1851, 
with  the  agricultural  colleges  of  the  various  states  today,  it 
seems  almost  like  a  prophecy.  It  might  have  served  as  a  basis 
of  organization  for  many  of  the  colleges,  so  like  is  it  to  them  in 
essential  parts.  In  fact  evidence  is  at  hand  to  show  that  this 
plan  of  Turner's  did  directly  influence  the  organization  of  agri- 
cultural colleges  in  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Oregon,  and  New  York  and 
because  it  was  widely  published  it  is  very  possible  that  it  exerted 
a  powerful  influence  upon  individuals  and  institutions  in  other 
states  in  a  way  that  may  not  now  definitely  be  traced.^ 

The  convention  at  Granville,  therefore,  was  highly  signifi- 
cant in  the  history  of  industrial  education.       The  resolutions 

''Tuiuer,  University  for  the  People,  Appendix,  p.  366. 

^The  Ottawa  Free  Trader,  Illinois  Journal,  and  several  individuals, 
notably  Turner  himself,  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  New  York  paper, 
the  Buffalo  Patriot,  printed  the  plan  word  for  word  without  giving  credit; 
shortly  afterward  New  York  state  founded  an  agricultural  college  based 
directly  upon  these  propositions  of  Turner.  For  the  influence  exerted  upon 
institutions  in  other  states  see  below  p.  77. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  25 

passed  on  that  occasion,  the  fire  of  enthusiasm  and  of  grim 
endeavor  that  was  there  kindled,  the  active  campaign  that  was 
then  started  were  the  beginnings  not  only  of  education  for  the 
industries  for  Illinois,  but  of  the  establishment  of  a  national  sys- 
tem of  universities  for  the  industrial  classes ;  at  least  one  univer- 
sity in  each  of  the  states. 

Four  months  later,  in  March,  1852,  Turner  added  a  final 
idea:  these  universities  should  be  created,  and  endowed  by  a 
grant  of  land  from  congress  to  each  of  the  states  of  the  union  for 
the  liberal  education  of  the  industrial  classes.  ^^ 

The  great  plan  was  out  in  the  light  of  day.  There  was  now 
something  tangible  either  to  fight  or  to  fight  for. 

Immediately  following  the  Granville  convention  there  was 
undertaken  by  a  small  group  of  Illinois  men  a  campaign  for 
industrial  education  that  was  to  extend  through  many  years,  the 
far-reaching  consequences  of  which  few  could  even  imagine.  In 
rapid  succession  there  came  within  the  next  fourteen  months  a 
series  of  three  industrial  educational  conventions,  memorials  to 
the  legislature  and  to  congress  were  written,  pamphlets  contain- 
ing the  Granville  plan  and  an  address  to  the  people  were  pub- 
lished and  circulated  throughout  the  country,  the  press  was  sup- 
plied with  articles,  an  industrial  league  in  the  state  was 
organized,  lectures  and  addresses  Avere  given  in  various  parts  of 
the  state,  all  in  the  interests  of  the  Illinois  idea, — a  system  of 
industrial  universities  supported  by  federal  grants.  The  motives 
of  these  men,  their  successes  and  failures,  became  apparent  dur- 
ing the  next  ten  years  in'  which  they  carried  forward  their 
campaign. 

Jonathan  Turner 's  plan  as  announced  at  the  Granville  con- 
vention excited  wide  comment.  It  instantly  won  for  itself  warm 
friends  and  hot  enemies.  In  accordance  with  the  action  of  the 
Granville  convention,  one  thousand  copies  of  the  pamphlet  con- 
taining the  plan  and  the  resolutions  of  tlae  convention  were  sent 
to  the  press,  to  state  officials,  to  representatives  in  congress,  to 

"Turner's  article  in  the  Prairie  Farmer,  March,  1852,  was  the  first 
public  announcement  of  this  plan  for  a  land  grant.  "Writers  on  this  subject 
have  previously  accepted  the  idea  that  the  proposal  for  a  federal  grant  made 
its  first  appearance  at  the  Springfield  convention  three  months  later. 


26  History  University  of  Illinois 

educators,  and  to  men  prominent  in  affairs  throughout  the 
country. 

The  Weekly  Jouriml  (Springfield)  of  January  7,  1852,  thus 
summarized  the  attitude  of  the  newspapers  of  the  state : 

"The  Press  of  this  State,  so  far  as  it  has  referred  to  this 
enterprise,  is  generally  in  favor  of  it.^^  The  Joliet  Signal  says: 
'  The  farmer,  the  mechanic,  the  practical  business  man,  needs  an 
education  to  prepare  him  for  the  sphere  in  which  he  is  placed. 
His  calling  is  great,  and  all  that  is  wanting  to  render  it  so  is  to 
encourage  a  system  of  education  that  knows  no  distinction.  We 
are  glad  that  a  move  has  been  made  in  the  matter, ' 

The  LaSalle  Standard  well  remarks:  'Illinois  demands  an 
institution  devoted  exclusively  to  the  cultivation  of  the  indus- 
trial arts.  She  needs  a  race  of  scientifically  educated  farmers. 
And  if  she  have  them,  she  must  educate  them  at  home.  The 
learned  professions  each  have  their  centers  of  light  and  knowl- 
edge, in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  from  which  go  forth  yearly,  an 
innumerable  multitude  to  propagate  and  sustain  the  peculiar 
provinces  and  creeds  of  each.  But  where  shall  the  enlightened 
cultivator  of  the  soil  look  for  opportunities  to  educate  the  rising 
generation  for  the  profession  (for  so  it  may  be  termed  with  pro- 
priety) of  farming.  Alas  he  has  no  such  place.  Is  not  the 
establishment  of  such  an  institution  then  well  worthy  of  legisla- 
tive consideration!' 

The  Peoria  papers  favor  the  measure.  The  Republican  says : 
'An  institution  of  the  kind  has  long  been  a  desideratum  in  our 
state  and  would  have  the  effect  to  elevate  the  farmer  to  that 
position  to  which  he  is  so  justly  entitled. ' 

The  Press  also  says :  '  It  is  high  time  that  some  disposition 
is  made  of  the  immense  amount  of  money,  that  has  accumulated 
for  educational  purposes,  and  we  trust  our  readers  will  inquire 
into  the  subject  and  prepare  themselves  to  act  when  the  question 
is  placed  before  them. '  * 

The  Galena  Jeffersonian  in  approving  of  the  proposed  Agri- 
cultural College,  observes:  'The  state  has  enough  of  lawyers, 
doctors  and  preachers,  such  as  they  are,  and  the  theological,  med- 

"Mrs.  Carriel  says  that  the  majority  of  the  newspapers  were  opposed  to 
the  Turner  plan.    Carriel,  Life  of  Turner,  101. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  27 

ical  and  law  schools  in  Illinois  and  elsewhere  are  glutting  the 
market  with  still  more,  but  such  institutions  as  those  of  which  we 
speak  are  few  and  far  between. ' 

The  Galena  Gazette,  Ottawa  Free  Trader,  Mt.  Morris  Ga- 
zette, Peru  Democrat,  Lacon  Herald,  Quincy  Whig,  and  other 
papers,  have  all  declared  in  favor  of  the  Agricultural  College ; 
but  we  have  not  room,  at  this  time,  for  further  extracts, ' ' 

The  enemies  of  the  enterprise  were  particularly  among  the 
small  colleges.  There  were  two  very  evident  reasons  for  their 
somewhat  violent  opposition.  For  one  thing,  education  based  on 
the  classics  as  they  offered  it  was  to  them  all-sufficient.  To  ques- 
tion its  all-sufficiency  was  in  the  nature  of  heresy.  Moreover, 
they  needed  money,  and  they  were  sure  they  deserved  whatever 
money  was  available.  The  "seminary"  or  "college"  funds  at 
this  time  amounted  to  about  $150,000  and  to  have  an  interloper, 
something  apart  from  the  prescribed  order,  a  mere  experiment, 
come  in  even  for  a  share,  not  to  mention  all,  when  money  was  so 
scarce  was  intolerable. 

The  Morgan  Journal  (Jacksonville)  and  the  Illinois  Journal 
(Springfield)  among  other  newspapers,  contained  articles  de- 
nouncing the  plan  as  proposed  at  the  Granville  convention  as 
"premature,"  "too  expensive,"  "visionary,"  "ungodly,"  and 
"absurd."  A  writer  in  the  Illinois  Weekly  Journal,  January 
21,  1852,  under  the  initials  of  J.  T.  S.  was  thus  resentful  in  re- 
gard to  Turner's  plan.  "I  would  not  join  him  in  his  crusades 
against  the  religious  denominations  or  sects  in  the  state  .... 
The  plan  proposes  too  much.  The  true  friends  of  education  can 
never  unite  upon  such  a  project,  and  if  they  could,  they  could 
not  sustain  it.  I  could  not  support  a  project,  which,  upon  its 
face,  assumes  that  all  the  departments  of  government  were,  and 
always  will  be  filled  with  dishonest  and  unworthy  incumbents. ' ' 

Again  with  reference  to  a  state  university : 

"If  the  funds  designed  to  be  used  in  establishing  and  sus- 
taining such  an  institution  cannot  with  safety  be  placed  under 
the  control  and  management  of  the  legislature  or  the  trustees 
of  existing  colleges,  they  had  better  remain  as  they  are,  until  a 
different  order  or  race  of  people  shall  be  raised  up  by  whom  they 
may  be  used. 


28  History  University  of  Illinois 

"Second:  If  the  interests  and  causes  of  education  cannot 
be  sustained  by  the  state  or  church,  or  either,  it  will  be  found, 
when  the  experiment  is  tested,  that  they  cannot  be  by  the  people. 

' '  Third :  Instead  of  attempting  to  establish  a  state  univer- 
sity, separate  from  all  other  institutions  of  learning,  and  stand- 
ing solitary  and  alone,  dependent  upon  public  funds  for  assist- 
ance, and  having  no  sympathy  whatever  with  the  religious  senti- 
ment of  the  country,  I  would  adopt  the  plan  recommended  by 
the  Governor.  I  would  use  the  capital  invested  in  existing  col- 
leges, as  well  as  the  honesty,  experience,  knowledge  and  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  education  of  the  trustees  of  those  institutions." 

The  above  brought  forth  immediate  and  heated  replies  in  the 
Journal  from  friends  of  the  Turner  plan.  One  who  signed  as 
S.  T.  J.  said  among  other  things :  "As  to  the  direful  and  hideous 
attack  on  religion  and  Christianity,  there  were  in  that  convention 
men  of  every  profession  in  life,  and  all  persuasions  in  the  church. 
Ministers,  doctors,  lawyers,  representatives,  senators,  as  well  as 
farmers  and  mechanics,  of  almost,  if  not  quite  every  religious 
denomination ;  and  I  do  not  think  in  following  the  teachings  of 
all  experience,  and  desiring  the  Institution  separated  as  far  as 
possible  from  all  "party  politics"  and  sectarian  ecclesiastic  con- 
trol, they  were  thereby  making  an  attack  upon  their  own  churches 
and  legislators  and  forming  an  awful  conspiracy  against  Christi- 
anity and  the  religious  sentiments  of  the  human  race.  Nor  do  I 
suppose  they  were  of  that  class  of  men  who  conceive  that  the 
foundations  of  Christianity  are  soi  frail  and  feeble  as  to  need  the 
aid  of  their  special  resolves  and  protestations  in  its  favor.  "^  2 

Much  more  was  written  in  the  newspapers  on  both  sides 
of  the  question  that  was  both  personal  and  bitter  during  the  early 
months  of  the  year  1852.  By  far  the  sanest  and  most  thorough 
discussion,  if  not  quite  so  lively  a  one  as  in  the  newspapers,  was 
carried  on  in  the  Prairie  Farmer  during  all  of  these  months.  In 
February  this  journal  published  Turner's  plan.  In  March  the 
editor  expressed  his  confidence  that  real  progress  was  being  made 
but  that  he  had  felt  like  awaiting'  the  action  of  the  older  states, 
which,  as  Massachusetts  and  New  York  had  been  agitating  the 
matter  for  some  six  or  eight  years.     He  thought  that  this  plan 

^Illinois  Weelcly  Journal,  January  28,  1852. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  29 

was  a  step  in  advance  since  it  defined  ' '  more  pertinently  than  we 
remember  to  have  seen  it  done,  what  sort  of  education  is  sought 
for  and  who  is  to  be  benefitted  by  it. ' '  In  conclusion  he  urged 
investigation  but  saw  no  occasion  for  haste. 

L.  L.  Bullock  of  Point  Republic,  writing  in  the  Prairie 
Farmer,  June,  1852,  said  that  he  thought  the  Prairie  Farmer  was 
making  a  mistake  in  counselling  delay,  that  the  advice  of  the 
convention  for  immediate  action  was  preferable.  He  had  little 
hope  of  witnessing  the  experiment  in  Massachusetts,  and  should  it 
be  made  it  would  not  furnish  a  real  test  of  its  practicability  here. 

In  the  same  number  of  the  Prairie  Fanner,  June,  1852, 
David  Prince  of  Jacksonville  wrote  that  New  York  and  Massa- 
chusetts were  moving  slowly  in  this  enterprise  of  mechanical  and 
agricultural  education,  but  Illinois  had  facilities  which  they  had 
not,  and  ought  to  be  taking  the  lead.  ' '  The  time  is  gone  by, ' ' 
he  said,  "in  which  the  people  of  Illinois  should  fold  their  hands 
and  wait  to  see  what  is  to  be  done  in  the  older  states. ' ' 

Under  the  same  date,  still  in  the  Prairie  Farmer,  John  A. 
Kennicott  of  the  Grove,  wrote  the  following  vigorous  opinion  in 
regard  to  the  situation : 

' '  The  history  of  all  legislation  shows  that,  unless  under  some 
sudden  outbreak  of  thought  and  will  in  the  masses,  the  specific 
interests  of  the  producing  classes  are  as  light  as  down  in  the  bal- 
ance, against  the  dead  weight  of  old  custom,  and  the  active 
influence  of  the  few,  who  nominallj^  obey,  but  actually  rule  the 
million  and  make  their  own  interests  or  notions  the  breath  of 
public  opinion. 

''We  are  at  this  moment  just  at  the  turning  point,  and 
success  is  as  certain  if  we  help  to  increase  the  tide  and  take  it  '  at 
the  flood' — as  defeat,  or  an  age  of  delay  will  be  inevitable  if  we 
neglect  the  present  moment. 

''The  Prairie  Farmer  is  the  only  legitimate  organ  of  the 
producers  of  Illinois,  and  to  it  must  attach  a  large  portion  of 
the  credit  of  success,  or  on  it  must  fall  much  of  the  odium  of 
defeat.  Its  responsibilities  are  great  and  its  powers  are  equal  to 
the  emergency." 


30  History  University  of  Illinois 

Thus  the  friends  of  the  plan  and  of  Turner  were  urging 
careful  consideration  but  many  were  desirous  of  early  action  on 
the  subject.  Turner  himself  was  very  busy  during  the  months 
following  the  Granville  convention  in  preparing  addresses  and 
articles  for  the  press  and  in  corresponding  with  individuals  both 
private  and  public  in  regard  to  this  new  movement  for  indus- 
trial education.  That  part  of  his  article  in  the  Prairie  Farmer 
for  March,  1852  to  which  reference  was  made  above  and  in  which 
he  proposed  a  grant  of  public  lands  by  congress  to  each  state  in 
the  union  for  the  establishment  of  industrial  universities  reads 
as  follows: 

"And  I  am  satisfied  that  if  the  farmers  and  their  friends 
will  now  but  exert  themselves  they  can  speedily  secure  for  this 
State,  and  for  each  State  in  the  Union,  an  appropriation  of 
public  lands  adequate  to  create  and  endow  in  the  most  liberal 
manner,  a  general  system  of  popular  Industrial  Education,  more 
glorious  in  its  design  and  more  beneficient  in  its  results  than  the 
world  has  ever  seen  before.  There  is  wisdom  enough  in  the  State, 
and  in  the  Union,  to  plan  and  conduct  it — there  are  students 
enough  to  patronize  it — there  is  useless  land  and  wealth  enough 
to  endow  it — and  there  are  hearts  enough  that  want  it.  Shall  they 
have  it  ?  A  proper  movement  now  by  the  farmers '  and  mechan- 
ics'  real  friends  will  secure  it — and  no  man,  and  no  other  person 
or  interest  in  the  universe  will  suffer  for  it.  But  there  is  always 
a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men — let  several  of  the  states  become  com- 
mitted to  some  other  scheme,  and  the  golden  opportunity  may  be 
lost  forever.  Now,  all  is  open  and  favorable,  and  the  way  is 
plain.  Soon,  it  may  not,  and  probably,  will  not  be  so.  Shall 
we  not,  then,  labor  for  this  end  ?  and  if  plans  now  suggested  are 
not  the  best,  let  us  take  that  which  is.  But  let  us,  by  all  means, 
strive  together,  as  one  man,  for  the  glorious  end  of  the  liberal 
and  appropriate  practical  education  of  every  class,  of  whatever 
name,  throughout  the  state,  and  throughout  the  Union. 

Respectfully  yours, 

J.  B.  Turner." 

On  May  18,  1852,  J.  B.  Turner  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
appointed  at  Granville  for  the  purpose,  called  a  convention 
at    Springfield   for    Tuesday,    June   8th,    to    consider   further 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  31 

the  plan  for  an  industrial  university.  The  second  paragraph 
of  the  call  reads  as  follows :  ' '  And  it  is  earnestly  desired,  that 
every  friend  of  the  cause  should  then  and  there  meet,  to  delib- 
erate further  upon  the  subject,  and  to  take  such  action  in  the 
premises  as  may  seem  to  them  most  advisable, — especially  to 
consult  as  regards  the  proper  appropriation  of  the  University 
and  Seminary  Fund  by  the  legislature,  at  the  called  session,  as 
suggested  in  the  proclamation  of  the  Governor  of  the  State. 
''By  order  of  the  Central  Committee,  May  18,  1852. 

J.  B.  Turner. "13 

As  indicated  in  the  above  call,  the  governor  of  the  state  had 
included  this  subject  in  his  message  to  the  legislature,  soon  to 
meet  in  special  session.  After  mentioning  the  importance  of 
applying  the  college  and  seminary  funds  to  the  uses  for  which 
they  had  been  appropriated,  the  governor  urged  the  necessity 
of  proper  legislative  care  over  agriculture.  ' '  A  knowledge, ' '  he 
said,  ' '  of  the  science  of  agriculture,  united  to  the  practical  exer- 
tion of  tilling  the  soil,  is  suited  no  less  to  elevate  the  dignity  of 
the  farmer,  than  to  reward  him  for  his  toil  and  his  labor 

''This  subject  has  lately  been  brought  more  immediately  to 
the  notice  of  the  people,  through  the  published  proceedings  and 
report  of  a  meeting  of  farmers  held  in  Granville  in  this  state, 
during  last  summer,  in  which  the  propriety  of  appropriating  the 
income  of  this  fund  to  an  agricultural  college  was  carefully  and 
elaborately  considered. '  '^  * 

A  number  of  gentlemen  met  at  the  courthouse  in  Springfield 
on  Tuesday,  June  8,  1852,  to  consider  subjects  indicated  in  the 
call.  *  *  The  convention, ' '  wrote  John  A.  Kennicott,  the  president 
of  the  convention,  "was  not  a  very  harmonious  one;  but  there 
was  not  the  least  difference  of  opinion  expressed  by  the  legitimate 
members  thereof.  All  the  difficulty  and  all  the  opposition  came 
from  the  able  and  learned  delegation  of  the  old  colleges.  These 
gentlemen  were  admitted  as  members  at  my  instance,  and  they 
were  certainly  no  friends  to  our  new  movement,  and  opposed  it 
with  zeal  and  ability  throughout,  though  every  one  of  them  agreed 
with  us,  that  the  producer  should  be  educated  for  his  vocation, 

'^Illinois  Journal,  May  19,  1852. 
^*Illinois  Journal,  June  9,  1852. 


32  Ilistorij  University  of  Illinois 

but  they  hold  that  old  colleges  could  accomplish  this  desirable 
result  better  than  a  new  Institution.  While  we  unanimously 
went  for  a  new  school,  on  new  principles  and  in  new  hands,  to 
suit  this  new  thought  of  educating  hand-workers  as  well  as  head- 
workers,  in  the  knowledge  of  things  next  to  them,  and  place 
the  brain  that  conceives  and  directs,  in  the  same  body  that 
furnished  the  hands  to  execute  the  devices  of  the  mind.  "^^ 

The  convention  organized  temporarily  with  J.  B.  Turner 
as  president  and  W.  H.  Powell  of  LaSalle  as  secretary.  On 
motion  of  J.  A.  Kennicott  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  all  delegates  be  considered  members  of  this 
convention,  who,  by  their  own  showing  are  the  friends  of  prac- 
tical industrial  education,  and  who  desire  the  concentration  of 
the  means  and  influences  for  that  purpose."^*' 

Permanent  officers  were  chosen  as  follows:  president,  John 
A.  Kennicott  of  Cook  County ;  first  vice-president,  Mr,  Little  of 
Fulton  county ;  second  vice-president,  Joseph  Morton  of  Morgan ; 
secretary,  W.  H.  Powell  of  LaSalle.  A  committee  on  business 
reported  the  following  which  was  adopted :  ' '  1st — The  considera- 
tion of  the  principles  of  a  practical  education,  with  a  view  of 
gaining  some  definite  idea  of  the  object  to  be  aimed  at  by  the 
convention. 

2nd — The  consideration  of  the  plan  submitted  by  J.  B. 
Turner  to  the  Granville  Convention,  with  the  view  of  ascertain- 
ing its  adaptation  to  the  proposed  subject. 

3rd — The  adoption  of  some  specific  plan  by  the  Convention 
to  be  recommended  to  the  legislature,  with  a  view  to  obtaining 
appropriations  to  carry  out.  "^'^ 

During  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  June  8th  and  on  June 
9th  a  lively  controversy  was  carried  on  between  the  advocates 
of  the  new  industrial  idea  and  the  representatives  of  the  old  clas- 
sical colleges  who  had  been  admitted  on  invitation  of  Kennicott. 

Early  in  the  discussion  Turner  raised  the  point  of  order 
that  the  convention  had  met  in  pursuance  of  a  call  issued  by 

^^Prairie  Farmer,  August,  1852. 
^"Prairie  Farmer,  August,  1852, 
"Prairie  Farmer,  August,  1852, 


Illmois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  33 

the  Granville  convention,  calling  a  convention  of  the  "friends 
of  concentration."  The  convention  was  assuming,  he  declared 
an  aspect  entirely  foreign  to  the  proposed  object,  and  instead 
of  the  friends  discussing  the  plan  other  gentlemen,  who  had  for 
two  years  openly  opposed  the  movement,  were  occupying  all  the 
time  of  the  convention.  Professor  John  Evans  of  Chicago,  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  small  colleges,  called  for  the  reading  of  the 
resolution  admitting  gentlemen  to  a  seat  in  the  convention.  The 
chair  sustained  Evans  and  the  controversy  continued. 

Turner  presented  the  outlines  of  the  plan  of  an  industrial 
university,  submitted  by  him  at  the  Granville  convention.  Evans 
opposed  Turner's  plan  and  submitted  one  of  his  own.  The  main 
idea  in  Evans'  plan  Avas  that  existing  colleges  should  carry  on 
courses  for  the  industrial  classes.^  ^  This  should  be  accomplished 
by  means  of  professorships  established,  the  holders  of  which 
should  travel  from  college  to  college-  A  leading  argument  urged 
in  favor  of  this  plan  was  the  saving  of  expense. 

Mr.  George  Lumsden,  an  earnest  friend  of  the  industrial 
idea,  was  opposed  to  the  plan  of  Evans  in  toto.  He  especially 
ridiculed  the  idea  of  itinerant  professors  and  characterized 
them  as  travelling  menageries.  ' '  He  desired  to  know  whether  it 
was  intended  the  state  should  furnish  geological  cabinets,  chem- 
ical apparatus,  etc.,  for  each  of  the  colleges;  or  Avhether  each 
Professor  was  to  hack  his  own  collection,  and  transport  them  in 
his  semi-annual  perigrinations  from  college  to  college.  In  the 
former  alternative,  he  was  of  opinion  that  the  frightful  expense, 
which  had  been  so  much  dwelt  upon,  of  furnishing  the  one  insti- 
tution proposed  by  Professor  Turner's  plan,  would  sink  into 
insignificance  compared  with  the  nine  complete  equipments  re- 
quired by  the  distribution  plan.  Mr.  L.  moved  to  lay  the  plans 
of  Dr.  Evans  on  the  table.  "^^^  After  a  scene  of  considerable  con- 
fusion the  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  carried.^o 

On  the  afternoon  of  June  8th,  the  friends  of  the  industrial 
university  idea  took  things  into  their  own  hands  by  having 

'*For  Evans'  plan  see  appendix,  p.  427. 

^^Prairie  Farmer,  August,  1852. 

™For  an  incident  showing  how  Turner  put  his  opponents  to  rout  on  this 
occasion  see  below,  p.  134. 


34  History  University  of  Illinois 

a  committee  of  their  own  number  appointed  to  memorialize  the 
legislature  for  a  state  university.  Debate  was  closed  and  the 
committee,  consisting  of  J.  B.  Turner,  chairman,  John  Hise,  Oaks 
Turner,  Mr.  Little  of  Fulton  county,  and  August  Adams  of  Kane, 
was  appointed.  This  committee  prepared  the  following  memo- 
rial which  was  presented  to  the  legislature.  As  it  is  typical 
of  a  number  of  important  memorials  prepared  by  Turner  it  is 
given  in  full. 

ILLINOIS  INDUSTRIAL  CONVENTION 

Memorial  of  the  Industrial  Convention  to  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

' '  The  Convention  of  the  friends  of  the  Industrial  University, 
proposed  to  the  consideration  of  the  people  of  Illinois,  by  the 
Granville  convention,  whose  report  is  alluded  to  in  the  message 
of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  beg  leave  to  submit  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  people,  the  fol- 
lowing memorial : 

''But  three  general  modes  have  been  publicly  proposed 
for  the  use  of  the  College  and  Seminary  funds  of  the  State. 

"I.  The  perpetual  continuance  of  their  use  for  common 
school  purposes,  is  not  seriously  expected  by  any  one,  but  only 
their  temporary  use  as  a  loan  for  this  noble  object. 

"II.  The  equal  distribution  of  their  proceeds  among  the 
ten  or  twelve  colleges  in  charge  of  the  various  religious  denom- 
inations of  the  State,  either  now  in  existence  or  soon  to  arise  and 
claim  their  share  in  these  funds,  and  the  equally  just  claim  of 
Medical  and  other  Institutions  for  their  share,  it  is  thought  by 
your  memorialists,  would  produce  too  great  a  division  to  render 
these  funds  of  much  practical  value  either  to  these  Institutions  or 
to  the  people  of  the  State.  Nor  do  they  consider  that  it  would 
make  any  practical  difference,  in  this  regard,  whether  the  funds 
were  paid  directly  by  the  State  over  to  the  Trustees  of  these 
Institutions,  or  disbursed  indirectly  through  a  new  board  of 
overseers  or  Regents  to  be  called  the  University  of  Illinois.  The 
plan  of  attempting  to  elect  by  State  authority,  some  smaller 
number  of  these  institutions  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  funds,  on 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  B5 

the  one  hand,  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  or  attempting  to  endow 
them  all  so  as  to  fit  them  for  the  great  practical  uses  of  the 
industrial  classes  of  the  State,  we  trust  your  honorable  bodies 
will  see  at  once  to  be  still  more  impracticable  and  absurd,  if  not 
radically  unequal  and  unjust  in  a  free  State  like  ours. 

*  'III.  Your  memorialists  therefore  desire  not  the  dispersion 
by  any  mode,  either  direct  or  indirect,  of  these  funds ;  but  their 
continued  preservation  and  concentration  for  the  equal  use  of  all 
classes  of  our  citizens,  and  especially  to  meet  the  pressing  neces- 
sities of  the  great  industrial  classes  and  interests  of  the  State, 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  suggested  in  the  message  of 
his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  State,  to  your  honorable 
bodies ;  and  also  in  the  recent  message  of  Governor  Hunt  of  New 
York,  to  the  legislature  of  that  State,  and  sanctioned  by  the  ap- 
proval of  many  of  the  wisest  and  most  patriotic  statesmen  in  this 
and  other  States. 

"The  report  of  the  Granville  Convention  of  farmers  here- 
with submitted  and  alluded  to,  as  above  noticed  in  the  message 
of  our  Chief  Magistrate,  may  be  considered  as  one  and  as  only 
one,  of  the  various  modes  in  which  this  desirable  end  may  be 
reached,  and  is  alluded  to  in  this  connexion  as  being  the  only 
published  document  of  any  convention  on  this  subject,  and  as  a 
general  illustration  of  what  your  petitioners  would  desire,  when 
the  wisdom  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  people 
shall  have  duly  modified  and  perfected  the  general  plan  pro- 
posed, so  as  to  fit  it  to  the  present  resources  and  necessities 
of  the  State. 

' '  We  desire  that  some  beginning  should  be  made,  as  soon  as 
our  statesmen  may  deem  prudent  so  to  do,  to  realize  the  high 
and  noble  ends  for  the  people  of  the  State,  proposed  in  each 
and  all  of  the  documents  above  alluded  to.  And  if  possible  on  a 
sufficiently  extensive  scale,  to  honorably  justify  a  successful  ap- 
peal to  congress,  in  conjunction  with  eminent  citizens  and  states- 
men in  other  States,  who  have  expressed  their  readiness  to  co- 
operate with  us,  for  an  appropriation  of  public  lands  for  each 
State  in  the  Union  for  the  appropriate  endowment  of  Universities 
for  the  liberal  education  of  the  Industrial  Classes  in  their  several 
pursuits  in  each  State  in  the  Union. 


36  History  University  of  Illinois 

"And  in  this  rich,  and  at  least  prospectively,  powerful 
State,  acting  in  co-operation  with  the  vast  energies  and  resources 
of  this  mighty  confederation  of  united  republics,  even  very  small 
beginnings  properly  directed,  may  at  no  very  remote  day  result  in 
consequences  more  wonderful  and  beneficient  than  the  most  dar- 
ing mind  would  now  venture  to  predict  or  even  conceive. 

"In  the  appropriation  of  those  funds  your  memorialists 
would  especially  desire  that  a  department  for  normal  school 
teaching,  to  thoroughly  qualify  teachers  for  county  and  district 
schools,  and  an  appropriate  provision  for  the  practical  education 
of  the  destitute  orphans  of  the  State,  should  not  be  forgotten. 

"We  think  that  the  object  at  which  we  aim  must  so  readily 
commend  itself  to  the  good  sense  and  patriotism,  both  of  our  peo- 
ple, rulers  and  statesmen,  when  once  fully  and  clearly  under- 
stood, that  we  refrain  from  all  argument  in  its  favor. 

"We  ask  only  that  one  institution  for  the  numerous  In- 
dustrial Classes,  the  teachers  and  orphans  of  this  State,  and  of 
each  State,  should  be  endowed  on  the  same  general  principles, 
and  to  the  same  relative  extent  as  some  one  of  the  numerous  In- 
stitutions now  existing  in  each  State  for  the  more  especial  benefit 
of  the  comparatively  very  limited  classes  in  the  three  learned 
professions.  If  this  is  deemed  immoderate  or  even  impracticable 
we  will  thankfully  accept  even  less. 

"As  to  the  objection  that  States  cannot  properly  manage 
literary  institutions,  all  history  shows  that  the  States  in  this 
country,  and  in  Europe,  which  have  attempted  to  manage  them 
by  proper  methods,  constituting  a  vast  majority  of  the  whole, 
have  fully  succeeded  in  their  aim.  While  the  few  around  us 
which  have  attempted  to  endow  and  organize  them  on  wrong 
principles — condemned  by  all  experience,  have  of  course  failed. 
Nor  can  a  State  charter  and  originate  Railroads  or  manage  any 
other  interest,  except  by  proper  methods  and  through  proper 
agents.  And  a  people  or  a  State  that  cannot  learn  in  time,  to 
manage  properly  and  efficiently  all  these  interests,  and  especially 
the  great  interests  of  self-education,  is  obviously  unfit  for  self- 
government,  which  we  are  not  willing  as  yet  to  admit  in  reference 
to  any  State  in  the  Union,  and  least  of  all  our  own. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  37 

' '  With  these  sentiments  deeply  impressed  on  our  hearts,  and 
on  the  hearts  of  many  of  our  more  enlightened  fellow  citizens, 
your  memorialists  will  never  cease  to  pray  your  honorable  bodies 
for  that  effective  aid  which  you  alone  can  grant. 

Eespectfully  submitted, 

By  order  of  the  Committee  of  the  Convention, 

J.  B.  Turner,  CJiairman."^^ 

This  memorial  Avas  explanatory  of  and  supplementary  to  the 
Granville  plan.  It  added  the  important  proposal  that  an  endow- 
ment be  made  by  congress  to  each  of  the  states  in  the  union  for 
industrial  universities.  Naturally  this  made  the  proposition  of 
national  interest  and  consequence.  In  the  same  paragraph  with 
the  statement  in  regard  to  a  grant  of  land  the  memorial  declared 
that  eminent  citizens  and  statesmen  in  other  states  had  expressed 
their  readiness  to  cooperate  with  Illinois  in  the  plan  of  appeal 
to  congress. 

The  Illinois  movement  for  industrial  education  was  gather- 
ing headway,  although  in  June,  1852,  it  could  not  get  a  dozen  men 
in  the  legislature  to  look  with  patience  on  its  plans.22  Great 
political  events  a  few  years  later  and  the  tremendous  shock  of 
civil  war  following  hard  upon  them  obscured  the  work  of  these 
early  pioneers.  The  following  facts,  gathered  from  many  sources 
demonstrate  how  far  the  knowledge  of  this  plan  went  within 
twelve  months  after  its  public  announcement. 

Immediately  following  the  Granville  convention  one  thou- 
sand copies  of  Turner's  plan  were  printed  by  order  of  the  con- 
vention and  distributed  free  to  the  press  and  to  influential  citi- 
zens and  officials  throughout  the  country.  The  Prairie  Farmer 
published  the  proceedings  of  the  Granville  convention  in  Jan- 
uary, 1852,  the  plan  in  February  and  an  editorial  on  the  same 
general  subject  in  March.  The  Cultivator,  published  at  Albany, 
New  York,  in  its  April  issue,  1852,  stated  that  it  had  received  a 
pamphlet  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Turner  presenting  in  a  clear, 
vigorous  style  the  arguments  in  favor  of  an  industrial  uni- 
versity. ^^ 

^Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People,  p.  35. 
^^Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:37.     The  legisla- 
ture changed  its  attitude  six  months  later  for  reasons  that  will  be  stated. 
^Cultimator,  April,  1852. 


38  History  University  of  Illinois 

The  Horticulturist  of  New  York  in  July,  1852,  published  the 
main  part  of  the  plan.  The  editor,  the  well-known  A.  J.  Down- 
ing, said  in  a  note  preceding  the  plan :  ' '  The  leaven  of  the  ne- 
cessity for  education  among  the  industrial  classes,  begins  to  work, 
we  are  happy  to  perceive  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  Massa- 
chusetts is  likely  to  be  the  first  to  set  an  agricultural  school  on 
a  comprehensive  scale,  in  operation — but  we  see  indications  of 
marked  interest  in  half  a  dozen  other  states.  At  a  Farmers '  Con- 
vention in  Illinois  our  correspondent,  Professor  Turner,  of  that 
state,  submitted  a  plan  for  such  an  educational  institution,  which 
has  since  been  published  in  pamphlet  form.  We  think  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject  one  that  will  be  sufficient  apology  for 
allowing  the  Professor  to  be  heard  by  a  large  audience.  It  is 
not  often  that  the  weak  points  of  an  ordinary  collegiate  education 
are  so  clearly  exposed,  and  the  necessity  of  workingmen's  uni- 
versities so  plainly  demonstrated.  "^^ 

The  plan  appeared  in  full  or  in  part  in  many  of  the  Illinois 
newspapers.  On  November  29,  1851,  the  Illinois  Journal  printed 
an  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Granville  convention;  in 
December  of  the  same  year  the  proposition  was  carefully  re- 
viewed by  the  Illinois  State  Register  and  during  the  next  few 
years  many  other  papers  throughout  the  state  joined  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  plan.  It  was  published  in  the  Report  of  the  Illi- 
nois state  board  of  agriculture  for  1851  and  appeared  also  in 
the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Illinois  state  agricul- 
tural society  a  few  years  later.^s 

Outside  of  Illinois  prominent  newspapers  and  agricultural 
journals  published  the  plan  and  commented  upon  it.  The  Neiv 
York  Daily  Trihime  of  June  17,  1852,  in  discussing  briefly  Gov- 
ernor French's  message  to  the  Illinois  legislature  said  that  Gov- 
ernor French  did  not  directly  advocate  an  agricultural  college  but 
mentioned  that  project  as  having  been  amply  considered  by  a 
convention  at  Granville,  the  result  of  which  will  be  laid  before 
the  legislature ;  on  August  28,  1852,  the  same  paper  printed  large 
portions  of  the  plan  and  made  favorable  comment  upon  it.  In 
the  same  year  the  Buffalo  Patriot  printed  it  through  a  series  of 

^The  Horticulturist,  7:306. 

^Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  1:368-382. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  39 

articles  using  it  almost  word  for  word  without  giving  credit, 
however,  for  its  authorship. 

The  PJiiladelphia  Nortli  American  in  an  editorial  on  educa- 
tion and  agriculture  written  by  Judge  Conrad  said  in  speaking  of 
Turner's  address  at  Granville :  "His  suggestions  are  urged  with 
zeal  and  ability,  and  his  arguments  are  convincing,  as  to  the 
needs  and  importance  of  such  institutions."  Early  in  1852  fhe 
plan  was  published  in  full  in  the  Valley  Farmer  of  St.  Louis, 
Missouri's  and  in  the  same  year  was  favorably  discussed  by  Dan- 
iel Lee  in  the  Southern  Cultivator,  published  in  Augusta, 
Georgia.2^ 

Through  the  efforts  of  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  of 
Congressman  Richard  Yates  the  Granville  plan  was  published 
by  the  United  States  patent  office  in  1851,  and  in  the  following 
year  Yates  was  successful  in  bringing  the  proposition  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  National  agricultural  society  then  in  session  in 
Washington.28 

The  news  of  the  Turner  project  was  carried  still  further 
by  the  private  correspondence  of  the  originator  and  other  ardent 
workers  for  the  cause.  Mr.  L.  D.  Campbell,  an  Ohio  member  of 
the  United  States  house  of  representatives,  wrote  Turner  from 
Washington,  April  26,  1852,  that  he  had  received  the  pamphlet 
and  read  it  with  much  interest,  and  added  that  during  his  term 
of  service  he  would  aid  in  forwarding  every  measure  to  promote 
universal  education.'"  Other  letters  from  editors,  from  state  offi- 
cials, from  representatives  in  congress  indicate  that  the  Illinois 
plan  in  a  few  brief  months  had  penetrated  to  the  consciousness 
of  many  people  throughout  the  entire  country. 

In  October,  1852,  John  A.  Kennicott  sent  out  through  the 
press  of  the  state  a  call  for  a  third  industrial  convention  to 
assemble  in  Chicago  on  Wednesday,  the  24th  day  of  November 
following.  He  did  this  by  order  of  the  Springfield  convention 
of  which  he  had  been  the  president.  In  order  that  there  might 
be  no  misunderstanding  as  there  had  been  at  the  Springfield  con- 

=«Yates  to  Turner,  July  10,  1852,  Turner  manuscripts. 
'"Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People,  51. 
^Yates  to  Turner,  June  25,  1852,  Turner  manuscripts. 
*»Campbell  to  Turner,  April  26,  1852,  Turner  manuscripts. 


40  History  University  of  Illinois 

vention  as  to  who  should  be  considered  members  he  specified  very 
carefully  who  were  invited.  The  final  paragraph  of  the  call 
reads  as  follows :  ' '  And,  that  there  may  be  no  question  in  regard 
to  the  qualifications  of  members,  it  has  been  decided  that  all  cit- 
izens of  the  state  in  attendance  shall  be  entitled  to  seats,  who  are 
fully  pledged  to  the  principles  of  Industrial  Education  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  general  views  set  forth  in  a  report  to  the  Gran- 
ville convention the  message  of  Governor  French,  and  the 

Memorial  of  the  Springfield  Convention  to  the  legislature — or, 
in  other  words,  the  call  is  for  those  who  desire  the  application  of 
the  College  and  Seminary  Funds  to  the  immediate  creation  of  a 
free  University  for  the  practical  instruction  of  persons  of  all 
classes,  but  more  especially  the  specific  education  of  the  great 
producing  classes  and  the  teachers  of  common  schools  (who  are 
mainly  charged  with  our  instruction)  and  the  substitution  of 
useful  knowledge,  for  barren  learning. '  '^^ 

The  representatives  of  the  small  colleges  were  not  at  all 
pleased  to  be  excluded  from  participating  in  the  coming  con- 
vention. The  temper  of  these  opponents  of  an  industrial  uni- 
versity and  the  sort  of  arguments  to  which  they  resorted  is  shown 
by  an  article  that  appeared  in  the  Mount  Morris  (Ogle  county) 
Gazette,  written  supposedly  by  the  editors,  two  professors  in  an 
educational  institution  at  Mount  Morris :  ' '  We  notice  in  the  Chi- 
cago Tribune  that  J.  A.  Kennicott,  President,  has  called  the  '  third 
Industrial  Convention,'  to  convene  in  Chicago,  November  24th. 
The  President  very  magnanimously  invites  all  who  are  in  favor 
of  devoting  'the  College  and  Seminary  Funds'  to  the  immediate 
creation  of  a  free  University,  to  attend,  assuring  them  if  sound 
on  this  point,  they  will  be  allowed  to  participate  in  the  deliber- 
ations and  decisions  of  the  Convention.  Thank  you.  Sir.  But 
suppose  we  should  differ  from  you,  are  we  then  to  be  excluded? 
Most  certainly;  for  how  else  can  the  Utopian  school  be  estab- 
lished with  the  people's  money? 

"It  will  be  remembered  what  a  beautiful  and  practical  plan 
was  proposed  by  Professor  Turner,  a  short  time  since,  for  an 
'Industrial  University,'  admirably  calculated  to  ease  the  State 
of  a  few  millions,  and  establish  at  Jacksonville  a  mammoth  work- 


"Illinois  Journal,  October  9,  1852. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  41 

shop,  a  State  farm  of  a  few  thousand  acres,  and  huge  model 
barns,  sheds,  cowyards  and  cider-mills,  where  some  salaried  and 
skilful  Professors,  twirling  ebony  canes  and  shaded  by  silk  um- 
brellas, might  teach  some  hundred  would-be-farmers,  (all  but 
the  labor,)  how  to  farm  scientifically. 

*  *  President  Kennicott  puts  forth  a  similar  plan,  which  starts 
with  sinking  a  cool  hundred  thousand  in  a  farm  and  fixtures 
to  commence  operations  with. — We  shall  wait  and  watch  with  in- 
terest, to  ascertain  what  these  dreamers  will  accomplish,  at  the 
third  convention :  though  we  are  assured  that  the  people  will  be 
slow  to  throw  away  a  public  fund,  ($10,000  a  year)  to  reward 
this  splendid  nightmare. 

"  'Industrial  University',  is  a  taking  name  beyond  doubt, 
and  one  may  talk  about  improving  agriculture  throughout  the 
State,  by  means  of  such  an  institution — ^may  talk  learnedly, 
plausibly ;  so  may  he  about  a  balloon  railway  to  the  moon,  for  the 
purpose  of  importing  the  real  seed  poetic  of  that  planet's 
witching  rays;  but  the  stern  practical  of  life  forbids  a  success- 
ful issue  to  either  of  these  chimeras. '  '^  i 

In  reply  to  the  above  article  the  Illinois  Journal  made  vig- 
orous answer.  It  said  in  part:  "The  Gazette  in  its  comments 
on  the  proposition  of  an  Industrial  Convention  at  Chicago,  ob- 
jects to  the  plan  of  limiting  the  delegates  in  Convention  to  those 
who  are  in  favor  of  using  the  College  and  Seminary  funds  for  the 
establishment  of  a  State  University.  Now  we  cannot  see  the 
wji'ong  in  leaving  this  matter  to  the  management  of  its  own 
friends.  How  else  can  they  expect  success?  We  have  seen  in 
a  former  convention,  delegates  attending,  who  seemed  to  have  no 
other  motive,  than  to  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  plan 
proposed.  What  could  the  friends  of  the  Industrial  University 
expect  if  the  Convention  was  to  be  filled  with  such  men,  as  the 
professors  of  the  institution  at  Mount  Morris?  They  condemn 
the  whole  project  in  advance — and  misrepresent  and  caricature 
the  designs  of  its  friends.  Truly,  men  of  candor  will  not  ap- 
prove of  the  proposition  of  filling  the  Convention  with  the  ene- 
mies of  the  proposed  University.  Its  friends  would  be  simple, 
indeed,  were  they  to  permit  it. 

^Illinois  Journal,  December  8,  1852. 


42  History  University  of  Illinois 

" With  regard  to  the  plan  submitted  by  Professor 

Turner  to  the  Granville  Convention,  it  is  but  fair  and  just  to  say 
— that  that  convention  called  upon  him  for  a  perfect  plan  of  an 
Industrial  University.  Professor  Turner,  no  more  than  any 
other  man,  claims  to  be  perfect  in  his  views.  But  he  gave  them 
his  plan,  which  had  been  matured  in  his  own  mind —  possibly  and 
probably  imperfect.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  it  were  so.  "We 
see  colleges  everywhere  occasionally  changing  their  mode  of  in- 
struction. "What  was  once  deemed  entirely  orthodox  in  the  man- 
ner of  education  is  not  orthodox  now.  And  we  see  no  reason  why 
even  Professor  Turner's  plan  cannot  be  improved  upon.  The 
Mount  Morris  Professors  would  represent  that  the  plan  as  pre- 
sented by  Professor  Turner  in  all  its  details,  is  to  be  at  once  car- 
ried into  operation.  No  such  thing  was  contemplated.  The  idea  of 
Professor  Turner,  as  we  understand  it,  was  to  present  a  plan 
which  would  ultimately  be  carried  out  when  means  could  be  pro- 
vided and  time  employed  for  the  purpose — perhaps  not  fully  in 
ten  years  and  maybe  not  in  twenty  years.  He  supposed,  like  other 
institutions,  the  full  designs  of  the  founders  were  not  to  be 
realized  for  years 

" The  Mount  Morris  Professors  have  no  facts  to  war- 
rant them  in  the  statement  that  there  is  a  design  to  locate  the 
proposed  University  in  any  particular  place.  Surely  they  have 
seen  nothing  in  the  plan  of  Professor  Turner,  or  in  the  progress 
of  the  discussion,  which  would  show  evidence  that  the  friends 
design  its  location  at  Jacksonville 

' '  '  Industrial  University '  "  is  a  taking  name,  we  admit.  It 
takes  with  the  masses.  They  see  in  it  something  intended  for 
their  especial  benefit.  They  are  willing  that  religious  sects  shall 
establish  colleges  to  suit  themselves.  They  make  no  opposition 
to  them.  They  choose  not  to  misrepresent  them.  They  believe 
they  will  do  great  good ;  but  they  want  to  enjoy  the  same  privi- 
lege that  they  award  to  others.  They  want  a  State  Institution — 
that  shall  receive  the  endowment  which  belongs  to  it — and  which 
shall  be,  not  a  local,  not  a  sectarian  Institution,  but  one  which 
shall  be  general,  and  where  the  means  belonging  to  it  shall  be 
used  for  the  diffusion  of  education  among  the  masses — education 
that  shall  fit  them  for  their  peculiar  callings.    We,  therefore,  can 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  43 

see  no  remarkable  adaptedness  of  the  simile  of  the  Professors, 
who  propose  a  'railway  balloon  to  the  moon'.  The  designs  of 
the  friends  of  the  Industrial  University  are  practical —  not  chi- 
meras ;  and  are  such  as  practical  men  ought  not  to  oppose " 

" We  need  go  no  farther  in  the  examination  of  the 

article  by  the  Professors  of  the  Mount  Morris  Institution,  It  is 
evident  that  under  aU  circumstances  they  are  unwilling  that  an 
institution  for  education  shall  be  established  in  this  State,  which 
shall  have  the  confidence  and  the  patronage,  and  be  the  pride  of 
the  great  mass  of  its  Industrial  citizens.  If  we  are  mistaken  in 
this  view  of  the  matter,  we  shall  be  glad ;  but  we  act  and  speak 
under  the  lights  given  us.    We  are  for  educating  the  masses. .  "3  2 

On  the  day  appointed  by  President  Kennicott  the  friends  of 
industrial  education  met  in  Chicago  in  their  third  convention. 
The  representatives  of  the  small  colleges  understood  that  they 
were  not  invited,  were  not  wanted ;  and  remembering,  too,  their 
unhappy  experiences  at  the  June  convention  in  Springfield,  they 
concluded,  perhaps  wisely,  not  to  go.  Chiefly  for  this  reason 
there  was  entire  harmony  in  this  November  meeting  with  the  re- 
sult that  much  of  value  was  accomplished.  The  convention  voted 
to  approve  every  feature  of  the  Granville  plan,  to  memorialize 
congress  for  a  grant  of  land  to  endow  an  industrial  university 
in  each  state,  to  establish  an  industrial  league  and  to  carry  on  a 
strenuous  campaign  of  education  on  behalf  of  an  industrial  uni- 
versity among  the  people.  It  declared,  moreover,  that  the  uni- 
versity which  it  hoped  to  obtain  in  Illinois  should  be  coeduca- 
tional, should  maintain  a  department  for  the  training  of  teach- 
ers, and  should  recognize  labor  as  one  of  its  most  important  ele- 
ments. Finally  a  committee  was  appointed  to  devise  a  working 
plan  of  an  institution  such  as  that  contemplated  by  the  con- 
vention, and  the  proposition  to  use  the  seminary  funds  to  endow 
it  was  endorsed. 

The  establishment  of  the  industrial  league,  which  was  de- 
vised and  suggested  by  Mr.  Murray,  was  most  important  for 
the  work  the  Illinois  men  were  endeavoring  to  carry  forward.  It 
'"Illinois  Journal,  December  8,  1852. 


44  History  University  of  Illinois 

was  soon  to  be  a  power  in  moving  the  public  mind  toward  the 
ends  desired  by  the  friends  of  industrial  education.^s 

Among  the  leaders  taking  part  in  the  third  convention  were : 
Bronson  Murray  of  Ottawa,  who  was  chosen  president ;  John  A. 
Kennicott  of  Cook  county,  John  Gage  of  Lake  county,  John 
David,  Ira  Porter,  and  others.    Jonathan  Turner  was  not  present. 

The  discussion  in  the  convention  on  various  portions  of  the 
Granville  plan  revealed  the  fact  that  some  of  the  leaders 
were  even  more  radical  than  Turner.  John  A.  Kennicott, 
a  man  who  had  been  educated  in  the  east  as  had  Turner, 
joined  issue  with  that  paragraph  of  the  Turner  plan 
which  related  to  the  introduction  of  a  classical  course.  He  said 
he  would  oppose  the  idea  without  reservation  or  stint.  He  could 
not  consent  even  to  a  qualified  admission  of  the  possibility  of  its 
ever  becoming  "expedient"  for  them  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  dead  languages,  or  any  of  the  intellectual  lumber,  so  rev- 
erenced and  interwoven  with  the  systems  of  education  in  the 
classical  schools.  He  concluded  by  saying:  ''We  must  keep  to 
the  necessary,  and  the  practically  useful  branches  of  education ; 
and  leave  mere  '  learning '  and  conventional  usage,  to  the  old  sys- 
tems, and  the  old  schools,  where  all  such  stuff  properly  belongs." 
Kennicott  said  he  considered  "this  the  sole  bad  feature  in  Tur- 
ner's admirable  general  plan.  "^^  John  Davis  did  not  approve 
of  a  distinct  classical  department  and  he  thought  that  the  lan- 
guage used  by  Turner  did  not  advise  but  merely  suggested  that 
it  might  be  expedient  sometime  in  the  future  to  have  the  means 
to  impart  a  classical  education  to  those  who  might  desire  it  in 
addition  to  the  practical  course.  John  Gage  and  George  Haskell 
both  thought  it  would  never  be  expedient  to  have  such  a  course. 

Unopposed  the  stream  of  eloquence  rolled  on.  The  climax 
was  reached  by  the  address  of  one  Seth  Paine.  Of  him  Kenni- 
cott, apparently  with  considerable  enjoyment,  reports:  "Seth 
Paine,  with  all  the  fire  of  his  singularly  energetic  and  progressive 

''Turner  said  of  the  league:  "  (It)  gave  us  a  name,  a  power,  and  a 
foothold."  He  said  that  Murray  proposed  it.  Turner  to  John  P.  Eeynolds, 
November  28,  1865,  Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:37; 
for  organization  of  league  see  appentlix,  p.  425. 

^Prairie  Farmer,  February,  1853. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  45 

mind,  and  rather  visionary  genius, — now  most  bitterly  sarcas- 
tic— and  anon  most  truly  eloquent — denounced  the  debasing  rot- 
tenness of  old  customs  and  usages,  and  the  incubus  of  the  lan- 
guages of  Greece  and  Rome,  sitting  like  an  evil  bird  on  the  car 
of  progress,  and  blighting  the  young  intellect  of  the  age — carry- 
ing it  to  the  corruption  of  centuries,  long  since  entombed,  but 
constantly  dragged  from  the  sepulchre  of  the  past,  to  blast  the 
buds  of  promise  in  the  present, " 

In  spite  of  so  much  eloquence  the  convention,  however,  did 
not  cut  out  of  the  Granville  plan  the  clause  relating  to  a  classi- 
cal department.  They  approved  it,  but  appended  the  follow- 
ing expression :  ' '  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  that 
it  will  never  become  necessary  or  expedient  to  teach  the  dead  lan- 
guages in  the  Institution. ' '  One  other  exception  was  taken  by  the 
convention  to  the  plan ;  it  disapproved  of  the  section  suggesting 
that  instruction  by  lectures  or  otherwise  should  be  given  mostly 
in  the  colder  months  of  the  year  and  expressed  the  opinion  that 
for  many  reasons  the  warmer  months  were  preferable. 

In  the  very  significant  concluding  paragraph  of  his  report 
Kennicott  says:  ''And  now  shall  we  succeed  in  our  undertak- 
ing? We  answer.  Yes.  Most  likely  not  this  year,  nor  next,  per- 
haps not  the  year  after ;  but  ultimate  success  is  certain,  because 
it  is  indispensible  to  the  destiny  of  the  Anglo-American  race, 
and  the  true  position  of  labor.  We  put  our  prediction  on  record, 
and  will  stand  or  fall  by  it.  We  know  that  we  shall  succeed, 
as  certainly  as  we  know  there  is  a  God,  and  as  surely  as  we 
believe  there  is  a  hereafter.  "^^ 

Kennicott 's  faith  was  not  the  blind  sort.  The  opposition 
that  had  already  developed  made  him  aware  that  only  by  hard 
work,  much  sacrifice,  and  long  persistent  effort  could  they  hope 
for  ultimate  success.  He  and  his  co-workers  had  just  organized 
for  these  very  things,  and  their  later  actions  and  the  results  ob- 
tained were  to  be  the  acid  test  that  would  determine  whether 
his  words  were  real  prophecy  or  merely  idle  prediction. 

It  is  interesting  at  this  time,  a  little  more  than  a  year  after 
the  launching  of  the  Granville  plan,  to  note  the  attitude  of  Tur- 
ner to  the  whole  movement.    The  plan  had  been  subject  to  search- 

^Prairie  Farmer,  February,  1853. 


46  History  UitivcrsHij  of  Illinois 

ing  criticism  and  the  motives  of  its  author  questioned  and  even 
attacks  made  upon  his  character.  Nevertheless  in  a  letter  to 
Bronson  Murray  of  LaSalle,  Illinois,  December  1,  1852,  he  ex- 
presses unbounded  confidence  in  the  plan  and  in  its  ultimate  suc- 
cess. He  writes  :•''•  ' '  Yours  of  the  27th  of  November  is  at  hand,  and 
I  embrace  at  once  a  feiv  moments,  though  it  is  approaching  mid- 
night to  reply.  I  am  pleased  with  the  general  doings  at  the  Con- 
vention.3'''  I  think  it  will  do  good  and  indeed  all  agitation  will 
do  good.  As  regards  the  details  of  a  plan,  I  conceive  that  we  can- 
not profitably  urge  anything  more  than  a  mere  general  outline, 
defining  our  ends  and  aiins,  not  fully  our  modes  of  reaching 
them,  before  the  people.  Let  us  get  the  thing  started,  and  get 
the  people  awake  about  it,  then  we  can  urge  the  details  if  need 
be  before  the  Trustees  or  responsible  Corporation  who  alone  can 
decide  upon  them."^^ 

''In  the  nature  of  things  they  cannot  be  decided  in  popular 
conventions  though  there  each  one  can  and  should  give  his  own 
ideas  freely.  As  regards  my  plan  as  it  is  called,  but  as  I  should 
prefer  more  properly  to  say,  the  plan  of  the  Granville  Conven- 
tion (for  it  is  theirs  in  truth)  I  have  no  fears  about  it,  it  will 
cut  its  own  way  (and  has  done  it)  if  we  can  only  get  any  plan 
in  motion. 

' '  Its  main  features  are  indestructable  as  time  itself,  because 
they  are  true,  let  who  will  oppose.  And  there  is  a  vitality  in 
truth  which  7io  man,  and  no  convention  of  men  can  destroy, 
though  they  may  oppose  and  hinder  it  for  a  time. 

' '  The  idea  is  out  upon  the  world,  it  has  gone  into  all  the  lead- 
ing journals,  North,  South,  East  and  West,  and  it  will  cut  its 
way,  in  time,  in  spite  of  all  conventions,  on  earth,  because  true. 
There  is  not  a  college  in  the  United  States  that  will  not  be  com- 
pelled to  adopt  its  leading  ideas.  This  college  here  has  done  it 
already.  All  others  in  the  state  will  be  forced  to  it  soon.  They 
grumble  at  me  for  throwing  out  such  an  idea  upon  the  world. 
But  the  trouble  is,  they  can't  help  tJiemselves. 

^'Turner  to  Murray,  December  1,  1852,  Murray  manuscripts. 

^'Referring  to  the  third  convention  held  at  Chicago  on  November 
24,  1852. 

^^Turner  had  been  appointed  on  a  committee  for  this  purpose  by  the 
third  convention. 


Illi7iois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  47 

''Here  lies  the  ground  of  my  calm  and  tranquil  security 
about  the  Granville  plan,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  I  am  not  anx- 
ious to  urge  it.  I  know  it  will  cut  its  own  way  if  not  forestalled, 
and  even  then  after  a  little  time.  For  the  moment  any  state  or 
body  of  men  attempt  to  do  anytliing  efficiently  and  in  good  faitli, 
for  the  individual  classes  as  such,  they  will  be  driven  of  necessity 
upon  the  main  features  of  that  plan,  not  because  it  has  been  voted 
for  or  against,  but  because  it  is  true.  It  meets  the  case,  and  will 
be  found  to  do  so,  and  anything  essentially  different,  will  be 
found  not  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  case.  Only  get  the  ship 
launched,  and  my  word  for  it  the  wheels,  engines  and  boilers 
will  all  be  found  needful,  and  adopted  because  so  found.  However 
extravagant  and  absurd  it  may  seem  now  to  the  classic  canoemen, 
and  the  old  Tars  of  the  Masthead,  and  the  thousand  little  fry  that 
swim  in  their  wake :  They  will  matter  of  course  about  the  jingle 
and  clatter  and  cost  of  the  machinery,  and  long  for  the  good  old 
days  of  cotton  sails  filled  with  Greek  and  Latin  wind  but  they 
will  find  out  how  this  ship  works  and  must  he  worked  if  we  can 
only  get  her  launched." 

Then  after  adjuring  unity  among  the  friends  of  the  cause 
and  urging  patience  under  accusations  that  they  may  win  others 
to  their  support,  he  closes  with  these  significant  sentences:  '*I 
have  been  branded  in  the  public  prints,  as  an  infidel,  a  miscreant 
and  a  traitor.  But  I  care  not  a  straw  for  it  all.  Truth  is  mighty 
and  will  prevail,  and  already,  even  in  one  short  year  there  are 
more  for  us  than  against  us,  and  what  have  we  to  fear,  even  if 
more  should  combine  against  us  ?  " 

By  resolution  of  the  third  convention  it  was  arranged  that 
a  similar  body  should  meet  at  Springfield  during  the  early  days 
of  January,  1853,  for  the  express  purpose  of  exerting  its  influ- 
ence at  short  range  upon  the  legislature  of  the  state.  An  extract 
from  the  Ottawa  Free  Trader  for  November  24,  1852,  indicates 
the  immediate  reasons  for  the  convention.  "In  pursuance  of  a  res- 
olution of  the  Chicago  Industrial  Education  Convention,  a  sim- 
ilar body  will  meet  at  Springfield  on  the  8th  of  January  next. 

"It  is  manifestly  important  that  those  Avho  are  friendly  to 
this  enterprise  should  exhibit  their  interest  by  attending  this 
convention.    The  next  legislature  may  make  a  final  decision  of 


48  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  disposition  of  the  Seminary  Fund,  and  if  our  mechanics 
would  have  a  word  in  the  matter,  the  Springfield  Convention 
may  be  their  last  opportunity. ' ' 

Other  papers  of  the  state  announced  the  coming  convention 
and  also  printed  a  call  for  a  meeting  to  organize  a  state  agricul- 
tural society  at  the  same  time  and  place.  The  Ulinois  Journal  in 
announcing  the  convention  urged  attendance  for  the  following 
reasons:  "The  sanction  of  the  people  through  their  represen- 
tatives is  yet  to  be  obtained,  money  or  lands  or  both  are  to  be  ap- 
propriated, opposition  is  to  be  overcome  and  prejudices  to  be  re- 
moved, and  all  this  must  be  done  by  the  friends  of  the  Institu- 
tion, or  it  will  not  be  done  at  all.  To  get  all  this,  there  is  no 
better  way  than  to  attend  the  conventions,  discuss  the  various 
plans  proposed,  and  if  possible  secure  unity  of  action ;  this  done, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  way,  will  be  overcome.  "^^ 
In  answer  to  the  call  prominent  men  from  all  over  the  state  as- 
sembled in  Springfield,  January  4,  1853,  for  the  sessions  of  the 
fourth  industrial  convention,  which  was  an  adjourned  meeting 
of  the  third  convention. ^*^  Bronson  Murray  of  LaSalle  was  made 
president  and  John  W.  Gray  of  Sangamon,  secretary  pro  tern. 
At  the  opening  of  the  session,  Murray  made  a  brief  and  pointed 
address.  Among  other  things  he  said : — ' '  The  nearest  approaches 
to  the  present  idea  of  this  convention,  which  has  ever  been  car- 
ried into  practice,  are  the  Polytechnic  School  in  France  and  the 
High  Schools  of  New  York.  These  are  intended  to  afford  to  the 
scholar  thorough  scientific  knowledge  in  those  pursuits  he  designs 
following  in  after  life.  But  the  idea  of  creating  perfect  mechan- 
ics and  farmers,  by  schools  fitted  for  their  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical education,  in  every  branch,  has  never  yet  been  carried  out 
in  any  country  in  the  world;  if  we  except  one,  which  has  been 
started  within  the  past  year  in  the  state  of  New  York,  by  private 
means.    TMs  one  Jias  grown  up  from  tJie  movements  in  tJiis  state. 

'"Editorial  in  Illinois  Journal,  January  1,  1853. 

^'Mrs.  Carriel  gives  the  date  of  the  fourth  convention  as  January  8, 
1853.  Errors  copied  perhaps  from  some  paper,  for  the  minutes  of  the  meet- 
ing in  Turner 's  manuscript  and  in  Springfield  papers  of  the  time  give  the 
date  as  January  4,  5,  and  6,  1853.  The  same  error  is  copied  in  one  place 
by  James,  Origin  of  the  Land  Grant  Act,  89. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  49 

And  to  accomplish  similar  work  for  ourselves  and  for  posterity, 
is  the  object  of  our  convention  today.  "^^ 

By  virtue  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  third  convention 
the  chair  appointed  A.  C.  French,  D.  L.  Gregg,  and  L.  S.  Pen- 
nington a  committee  to  memorialize  congress  on  the  subject  of 
a  grant  of  land  for  the  establishment  of  an  industrial  university. 
At  the  evening  session  this  committee,  by  Dr.  Pennington  re- 
ported the  form  of  memorial  to  be  sent  to  congress.^2 

The  committee  on  business,  Murray,  Lumsden,  and  Gray  re- 
ported several  matters  of  importance  for  the  consideration  of  the 
convention,  and  after  a  careful  discussion  a  recommendation  was 
made  in  each  instance.  In  pursuance  of  the  "svill  of  the  conven- 
tion the  chair  appointed  Turner  of  Morgan,  Weston  of  LaSalle, 
and  Dychus  of  Sangamon  a  committee  to  consult  with  the  newly 
organized  state  agricultural  society  in  regard  to  securing  a  per- 
iodical which  would  serve  as  the  official  organ  of  the  industrial 
league  and  of  the  agricultural  society  as  well.  It  was  decided 
that  the  officers  of  the  league  should  hold  their  positions  until 
others  should  be  chosen  at  a  regularly  called  meeting;  that  the 
directors  of  the  league  should  be  instructed  to  take  charge  of  the 
records  and  documents  of  the  league  and  deliver  them  to  the 
secretary,  when  that  officer  should  be  elected ;  that  the  principal 
director  should  be  ex-officio  treasurer  and  should  report  to  his 
associate  directors  annually ;  that  a  meeting  of  the  league  might 
be  called  at  any  time  by  a  vote  of  the  majority  of  the  members. 

In  regard  to  the  forming  of  a  detailed  plan  for  the  proposed 
industrial  university  the  convention  resolved  that  it  was  not  ex- 
pedient to  consider  such  a  matter  in  popular  meetings,  and 
that  it  should  be  left  to  the  trustees  of  the  new  institution. 
The  recommendation  of  the  committee  that  material  throw- 
ing light  on  the  needs  of  the  working  classes  be  read  before  the 
convention  was  adopted  and  fulfilled;  a  similar  provision  re- 
garding newspaper  extracts  dealing  with  industrial  universities 
was  referred  to  a  later  meeting.     The  proposition  to  provide  a 

"The  address  was  given  in  full  in  Ottawa  Free  Trader,  January  22, 
1853.  His  mention  of  the  institution  established  in  New  York  from  the 
movement  in  Illinois  has  reference  to  the  Buffalo  Patriot  copying  Turner's 
plan.     See  above,  p.  38. 

*-For  siunmary  of  this  memorial  see  below,  p.  52 ;  for  the  memorial 
itself  see  appendix,  p.  431. 


50  History  Univcrsiiij  of  Illinois 

lecture  for  each  evening  during  the  session  Avas  referred  back 
to  the  committee.^^ 

In  addition  to  the  above  business  the  following  important 
resolution  was  adopted :  ' '  Resolved :  That  the  chair  appoint  a 
committee  of  three  to  present  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature,  peti- 
tioning that  the  University  funds  of  this  State  may  remain  as  they 
are  until  the  majority  of  the  people  shall  indicate  a  desire  to  ap- 
propriate it  to  other  uses."  In  conformity  with  the  above  res- 
olution the  chair  appointed  on  that  committee  L.  L.  Bullock,  L. 
W.  Weston  and  James  McBurney.  On  request  of  this  committee 
Turner  wrote  after  the  adjournment  of  the  convention  a  mem- 
orial which  was  signed  by  the  president,  Bronson  Murray,  and 
presented  immediately  to  the  legislature  as  ordered  by  above  res- 
olution.44 

The  members  of  this  convention  aided  their  cause  greatly  by 
adjourning  on  Wednesday  afternoon  and  evening,  January  5,  to 
enable  members  to  attend  the  meeting  called  to  organize  the  Illi- 
nois state  agricultural  society.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  of 
January,  the  convention  reassembled  in  the  state  house  and  for- 
mally closed  its  sessions  by  resolutions  furnishing  the  newspapers 
of  the  city  with  copy  of  the  proceedings  for  publication.^^ 

Not  for  more  than  seven  years  did  another  industrial  con- 
vention meet  in  Illinois.'*''^  Not  that  the  work  for  the  cause  was 
abandoned  but  rather  because  it  was  turned  in  a  different  di- 
rection. Popular  conventions  gave  place  to  methods  of  a  differ- 
ent kind  such  as  organizing  those  friendly  to  their  cause  into 


^'For  the  minutes  of  this  meeting  see  appendix,  p.  405. 

''■'For  this  memorial  see  appendix,  p.  406. 

*'0n  the  evening  of  January  7,  1853,  there  was  a  public  meeting  in  the 
senate  chamber  at  which  Bronson  Murray  presided;  brief  addresses  were 
made  by  Turner,  Paine,  Denio,  Lumsden,  Ballance,  Murray,  and  Bryan. 
Illinois  Journal,  January  8,  1853.  Abstract  of  addresses  reported  by  Lums- 
den in  Ottmva  Free  Trader,  January  22,  1853. 

■•"The  statement  by  Mr.  Pillsbury  that  a  fifth  convention  was  held  in 
Springfield  in  1855  is  correct.  Illinois  School  Eeports,  1886-1888,  p.  exxiii. 
Turner,  however,  does  not  count  it  as  one  of  the  series  of  industrial  conven- 
tions. He  says  the  fifth  convention  was  held  at  Bloomington  in  1860.  Illi- 
nois State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:38.  The  call  went  out  for 
the  convention  but  only  a  few  of  the  leaders  responded.  For  actions  taken 
at  this  meeting  January,  1855,  and  the  call  see  below,  p.  81. 


Illinois  Flan  for  Lamd  Grant  Colleges  51 

the  industrial  league  and  getting  educational  conventions,  ag- 
ricultural and  horticultural  societies,  and  even  individuals  to 
back  them  up  in  the  various  ways  in  which  influence  would  count. 

The  leaders  of  the  conventions  just  held  followed  up  their 
numerous  speeches  and  resolutions  by  specific  action  that  brought 
immediate  and  very  definite  results. 

Two  memorials  were  prepared ;  one  by  J.  B.  Turner,  signed 
by  Bronson  IMurray,  was  addressed  to  the  senate  and  the  house 
of  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  a  similar  one  reported  by  the  com- 
mittee headed  by  Governor  French  was  addressed  to  congress. 
As  the  wording  of  this  second  memorial  is  identical  in  many 
places  Avith  that  of  the  first,  confessedly  written  by  Turner,  it  is 
very  probable  that  he  Avrote  the  one  addressed  to  congress  as  well. 
The  memorial  addressed  to  the  legislature  was  presented  in  the 
senate  by  ]\Ir.  Cook,  January  20,  1853,  and  two  days  later  it  was 
read  before  the  house  by  Mr.  Moulton  from  the  committee  on 
education  and  five  hundred  copies  of  it  were  ordered  printed.-*'' 

This  memorial  rehearsed  the  needs  of  an  industrial  uni- 
versity and  urged  the  application  of  the  ''university  fund"  for 
its  support.  It  turned  then  from  consideration  of  Illinois  inter- 
ests only  and  requested  the  legislature  to  take  definite  action  and 
to  use  its  influence  with  congress  in  behalf  of  each  of  the  states 
of  the  American  union.  The  most  important  paragraph  of  this 
memorial,  for  which  every  land  grant  institution  in  this  country 
would  have  the  keenest  gratitude  if  they  knew  and  understood 
its  significance,  is  as  follows:  "We  would,  therefore,  respect- 
fully petition  the  honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives 
of  the  State  of  Illinois,  that  they  present  a  united  memorial  to 
the  Congress  now  assembled  at  Washington,  to  appropriate  to 
each  State  in  the  Union  an  amount  of  public  lands,  not  less  in 
value  than  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  the  liberal  endow- 
ment of  a  system  of  Industrial  Universities,  one  in  each  State 
in  the  Union,  to  co-operate  with  each  other,  and  with  the  Smith- 
sonian Institute  at  Washington,  for  the  more  liberal  and  practical 
education  of  our  industrial  classes  and  their  teachers,  in  their 
various  pursuits,  for  the  production  of  knowledge  and  literature 

*''Rouse  Joxirnal,  18  general  assembly,  1  session,  184;  Senate  Journal, 
18  general  assembly,  1  session,  102. 


52  History  University  of  Illinois 

needful  in  those  pursuits,  and  developing,  to  the  fullest  and  most 
perfect  extent,  the  resources  of  our  soil  and  our  arts,  the  virtue 
and  intelligence  of  our  people,  and  the  true  glory  of  our  common 
country.  "^8  It  was  also  asked  that  the  college  fund,  if  not  ap- 
propriated for  the  university  proposed,  should  for  the  present, 
be  held  as  it  had  been  for  years,  and  the  interest  thereon  applied 
to  the  support  of  common  schools.*^ 

The  memorial  to  congress  presented  by  A.  C.  French  and  his 
committee  bore  the  following  introductory  paragraph:  "The 
Industrial  Convention  of  the  State  of  Illinois  assembled  at 
Springfield,  Illinois,  this  fifth  day  of  January  1853. 

"To  the  Honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives 
in  Congress  assembled,  would  respectfully  represent  that 

*  *  We  are  members  of  the  Industrial  class  engaged  in  the  va- 
rious pursuits  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts.  We  find  our- 
selves   " 

It  closed  with  the  appeal  for  an  appropriation  by  congress 
to  each  state  of  an  amount  of  land  not  less  in  value  than 
$500,000.50 

The  members  of  the  general  assembly  now  seemed  very  will- 
ing to  listen  to  the  appeals  for  industrial  education  although 
only  six  months  before,  in  June,  1852,  there  were  not  a  dozen 
men  favorable  to  this  movement.  Why  this  sudden  and  unex- 
pected attitude  of  consideration  ?  Turner  explains :  ' '  We  found 
the  Legislature  surprisingly  changed.  They  listened  to  us  with 
much  respect,  and  with  an  unexpected  degree  of  favor.  The 
people  had  turned  their  attention  seriously  to  the  subject,  and 

we  appeared  before  them  not  as  one  or  'two  d d  abolitionists, 

seeking  to  rob  the  dear  children,  and  turn  the  world  in  general 
upside  down,'  but  as  an  organized  force,  that  could  command 
votes,  and  therefore,  at  least,  would  have  respect. '  '^^ 

*^Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People,  43. 
*°A  discussion  of  the  origin  and  uses  of  the  "college"  and  "univer- 
sity ' '  funds  will  be  found  below,  p.  156. 

■"•From  a  copy  in  long  hand  signed  by  each  member  of  the  committee 
and  found  in  a  letter  by  Lumsden  to  Turner,  January  13,  1853,  Turner 
manuscripts  (Springfield.)    See  appendix,  p.  430  for  letter  and  the  memorial. 

^Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:37. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  53 

After  discussion  of  the  memorial  the  legislature  unanimously- 
passed  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  were  in- 
troduced in  the  house  by  Mr.  Denio  on  February  5,  and  in  the 
senate  by  Mr.  Moulton  on  February  8 : 

"Whereas  the  spirit  and  progress  of  this  age  and  country 
demand  the  culture  of  the  liighest  order  of  intellectual  attain- 
ment, in  theoretical  and  industrial  science ;  and  whereas  it  is  im- 
possible that  our  commerce  and  prosperity  will  continue  to  in- 
crease, without  calling  into  requisition  all  the  elements  of  in- 
ternal thrift  arising  from  the  labors  of  the  farmer,  the  mechanic, 
and  the  manufacturer,  by  every  fostering  effort  within  the  reach 
of  government;  and  Avhereas  a  system  of  industrial  universities 
liberally  endow^ed,  in  each  state  of  the  Union,  co-operative  wdth 
each  other  and  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington, 
would  develop  a  more  liberal  and  practical  education  among 
the  people,  tend  the  more  truly  to  intellectualize  the  rising  gen- 
eration, and  eminently  conduce  to  the  virtue,  intelligence  and 
true  glory  of  our  common  country;  therefore,  be  it 

KESOLVED  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTA- 
TIVES, THE  SENATE  CONCURRING  HEREIN,  That  our 
senators  in  congress  be  instructed  and  our  representatives  be 
requested  to  use  their  best  exertions  to  procure  the  passage  of 
a  law  of  congress  donating  to  each  state  in  the  Union  an  amount 
of  public  lands,  not  less  in  value  than  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  for  the  liberal  endowment  of  a  system  of  industrial  uni- 
versities, one  in  each  state  in  the  Union,  to  co-operate  wdth  each 
other,  and  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington,  for 
the  more  liberal  and  practical  education  of  our  industrial  classes 
and  their  teachers ;  a  liberal  and  varied  education,  adapted  to  the 
manifold  w^ants  of  a  practical  and  enterprising  people,  and  a 
provision  for  such  educational  facilities,  being  in  manifest  con- 
currence with  the  intimations  of  popular  will,  it  urgently  de- 
mands the  united  effort  of  our  national  strength. 

RESOLVED,  That  the  governor  is  hereby  authorized  to  for- 
ward a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  to  our  senators  and  rep- 
resentatives in  congress,  and  also  to  the  executive  and  the  legis- 


54  History  Vniversiiy  of  Illinois 

lature  of  each  of  our  sister  states,  inviting  them  to  co-operate 
with  us  in  tliis  meritorious  enterprise. '  '^- 

These  resolutions  were  sent  to  the  federal  congress  where 
they  were  presented  in  the  senate  and  in  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives on  the  same  date,  March  20,  1854.  In  the  senate  they  were 
presented  by  the  junior  senator  from  Illinois,  Honorable  James 
Shields,  and  referred  to  the  committee  on  public  lands,  and  in  the 
house  they  were  presented  by  Elihu  B.  Washburn  and  on  his 
motion  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed.^^ 

The  last  clause  of  these  resolutions  authorized  the  Governor 
to  forward  copies  to  the  executive  and  legislature  of  each  of  the 
states.  Whether  this  was  ever  carried  out  in  full  is  doubtful. 
In  a  letter  to  Bronson  Murray  of  December  27,  1853,  Turner 
wrote :  ' '  That  unanimous  resolve  of  both  Houses  last  winter,  I 
do  not  believe  was  ever  forwarded  to  a  single  state  by  (Governor) 
Mateson,  nor  is  it  even  published  among  the  laws."^^  In  the 
same  letter  he  urges  Murray  to  write  to  the  secretary  of  state 
and  find  out  what  had  been  done  with  those  resolutions  and  '  *  to 
push  them  up'"  before  the  close  of  the  winter  session. 

The  resolutions  were  widely  published  in  newspapers 
throughout  the  country.  The  Illinois  Daily  Journal  published 
them  on  February  10,  1853,  referred  to  them  again  favorably 
on  February  18,  and  on  March  12  it  quoted  the  New  York  Tri- 
bune's editorial  on  the  subject.  The  Central  Illinois  Times  of 
Bloomington  and  other  papers  printed  them,  and  they  appeared 
in  the  Prairie  Farmer  of  Chicago  in  January,  1854. 

Outside  of  Illinois  they  received  distinguished  recognition 
and  consideration  from  Horace  Greeley  in  the  New  York  Tribune. 
In  an  editorial  in  the  Tribune  of  February  26,  1853,  and  again 
in  the  semi-weekly  Tribune  of  March  1,  1853,  after  quoting  the 
resolutions  of  the  Illinois  legislature,  he  stated : 

"Here  is  the  principle  contended  for  by  the  friends  of  prac- 
tical education  abundantly  affirmed,  with  a  plan  for  its  immedi- 

^-Rouse  Journal,  18  general  assembly,  1  session,  416;  Senate  Journal, 
18  general  assembly,  1  session,  372;  see  Illinois  Journal,  February  10,  1853, 
for  brief  remarks  by  Senators  Bryan  and  O  'Kean ;  both  were  favorable  to 
the  resolutions. 

^'^Congressional  Globe,  22  congress,  1  session,  86,  678. 

^^Turner  to  Murray,  December  27,  1853,  Murray  manuscripts. 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  55 

ate  realization.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  one  of  the  most 
extensive  of  the  Public  Lands  (or  new)  states,  proposes  a  mag- 
nificent donation  of  Public  Lands  to  each  of  the  states,  old  as 
well  as  new,  in  furtherance  of  this  idea.  Whether  that  precise 
form  of  aid  to  the  project  is  most  judicious  and  likely  to  be 
effective,  we  will  not  here  consider.  Suffice  it  that  the  legislature 
of  Illinois  has  taken  a  noble  step  forward,  in  a  most  liberal  and 
patriotic  spirit,  for  which  its  members  will  be  heartily  thanked 
by  thousands  throughout  the  union.  We  feel  that  this  step  has 
materially  hastened  the  coming  of  Scientific  and  Practical  Edu- 
cation for  all  who  desire  and  are  willing  to  work  for  it.  It  can- 
not come  too  soon.  "^^ 

The  press  of  the  day  wherever  these  resolutions  were  dis- 
cussed gave  credit  to  Illinois  for  initiating  this  particular  move- 
ment. More  than  twelve  years  later  after  success  had  been  won 
Turner  made  the  statement  ''that  the  legislature  of  Illinois  was 
the  first  political  body  that  ever  petitioned  congress,  or  any 
power,  for  such  a  grant. '  '^"^ 

Another  important  event  of  January,  1853,  and  in  a  large 
measure  a  result  of  the  two  recent  industrial  conventions  was 
the  formation  of  the  Illinois  state  agricultural  society.  It  was 
organized  on  January  5, 1853,  in  Springfield,  Among  the  organ- 
izers and  leading  spirits  Avere  Bronson  ilurray,  John  Kenni- 
cott,  J.  B.  Turner,  L.  L.  Bullock  and  others  who  were  leaders  in 
the  movement  for  industrial  education.  The  latter  cause  won 
undoubtedly  an  accession  of  valuable  friends  by  this  new  organi- 
zation which  for  many  years  was  a  strong  supporter  of  an  in- 
dustrial university.  The  society  was  incorporated  on  Febru- 
ary 8,  1853,  and  on  February  11  following  it  was  granted  the 
sum  of  $1000  per  annum  for  two  years  by  the  legislature.^^ 

The  first  state  fair  of  the  society  w^as  held  the  following 
autumn  at  Springfield.  On  invitation  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee J.  B.  Turner  delivered  the  first  annual  address  on  that  oc- 

^Illinois  Journal,  March  12,  1853. 

"'Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:37.  In  his  state- 
ment the  words  "for  such  a  grant"  are  to  be  interpreted  carefully. 

"For  account  of  the  organization  and  acts  referred  to  see  Illinois  State 
Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  1:38-42. 


56  History  University  of  Illinois 

casion  at  the  fair  grounds  on  the  subject  of  ''The  millennium  of 
labor."  It  was  a  masterful  and  convincing  address.  A  few 
significant  paragraphs  will  indicate  the  trend  of  his  thought. 

"And  shall  it  not  always  be  said  that  it  was  reserved  for 
the  laborers  in  this  great  valley  of  the  far  west  to  take  under 
their  charge  the  last  great  social  and  moral  interest  and  neces- 
sity of  man— THE  CAUSE  OF  LIBERAL  INDUSTRIAL 
EDUCATION — and  thus  prepare  the  way  fully  for  the  great 
triumph  and  millennium  of  labor ; 

"I  would  covet  for  myself  and  for  my  children  no  higher 
earthly  distinction  than  the  capacity,  the  knowledge  and  science 
requisite  to  cultivate  in  the  best  possible  manner  160  acres  of 
our  prairie  land,  and  discharge  thereon  all  the  necessary  duties 
of  an  American  free  laborer.  And  if  I  had  it  I  should  know 
more  at  this  moment  than  all  the  professors  and  teachers 
and  scholars,  statesmen,  lawyers  and  divines  that  have 
ever  trod  this  continent  since  Columbus  first  bowed  his  knee 
upon  its  eastern  sands. 

''But  I  have  it  not — and  I  see  no  certain  causes  in  actual 
operation  adequate  to  secure  it  to  me  or  to  you  or  to  our  chil- 
dren after  us ;  and  to  urge  you  to  create  the  means  of  ushering 
in  this  era  of  intelligence  and  power  for  your  professions  and  for 
the  world  is  the  object  of  my  present  theme 

"But  to  work  this  transformation  or  rather  to  complete  it 
we  need  more  practical  science  and  skill,  and  to  get  these  we 
must  apply  the  means  and  resources  for  creating  them. 

"Doubtless  you  are  aware  that  several  conventions  of 
farmers  and  mechanics  have  been  held  in  our  own  state  and  in 
other  states  to  secure  this  great  end.  You  are  also  aware  that 
the  legislature  of  our  own  state  had  the  high  honor  to  be  the 
first  in  this  great  confederation  of  republics  to  invoke  our  sister 
states  to  unite  in  a  petition  to  the  general  government  for  an 
appropriation  of  $500,000  worth  of  our  vacant  lands  for  the  en- 
dowment in  each  state  in  the  Union  of  an  Industrial  University 
suited  to  their  wants. 

' '  You  are  also  aware  that  the  same  legislature  chartered  an 
Industrial  League  in  this  state,  with  a  capital  of  $20,000,  de- 


Illinois  Plan  for  Land  Grant  Colleges  57 

signed  to  secure  the  concentrated  and  organized  action  of  all 
our  industrial  classes  for  these  same  ends. 

' '  But  while  our  representatives  and  senators  have  thus  with 
almost  unparalleled  unanimity  manifested  a  disposition  to  do 
all  in  their  power  to  aid  us,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  they  can- 
not help  us  unless  we  help  ourselves.  You  must  be  first  to  move, 
first  to  resolve,  petition  and  to  act,  talk — talk  at  home — talk 
abroad — and  above  all,  talk  at  the  ballot-box  and  then  and  not 
till  then  will  your  representatives  in  congress  stand  ready  to 
execute  your  will."^^ 

Another  important  result  of  the  convention  was  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Industrial  league  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  It  was  in- 
corporated by  the  legislature  on  February  8,  1853,  the  same  day 
that  the  Illinois  state  agricultural  society  was  incorporated.  Its 
purpose  was  to  combine  the  friends  of  industrial  education  in  an 
organization  to  secure  the  adoption  of  the  plan  for  a  university 
in  Illinois  and  in  each  state  in  the  union  and  to  obtain  the  liberal 
endowment  of  the  new  institutions  by  federal  grants  of  land  and 
by  state  funds.  The  league  grew  into  a  powerful  instrument 
during  the  next  year  and  a  half  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  established. 

Besides  adopting  memorials,  passing  joint  resolutions,  in- 
corporating an  agricultural  society  and  an  industrial  league,  the 
legislature  did  still  other  things  along  educational  lines  in  the 
early  days  of  February,  1853.  A  bill  to  incorporate  the  "In- 
dustrial university  of  the  state  of  Illinois"  was  introduced,  but 
finally  tabled.  A  bill  for  an  act  to  incorporate  the  "Northern 
Illinois  Agricultural  college"  was  passed  and  became  a  law  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1853.  On  February  3,  1853,  the  legislature  amended 
an  act  it  had  passed  on  June  21,  1852,  establishing  an  institution 
by  the  name  of  ' '  Illinois  state  university. ' ' 

■^Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  1:60. 


58  TTisio)'}!  Univcj'sifj/  of  Illinois 

CHAPTER  III 
ACTIVITY  OF  THE  INDUSTRIAL  LEAGUE 

The  need  of  an  industrial  league  was  realized  or  of  course 
it  would  not  have  been  deliberately  organized.  But  the  full  sig- 
nificance of  its  work  both  in  Illinois  and  in  other  states  even  its 
founders  could  not  have  anticipated.  It  gave  the  leaders  a  stand- 
ing before  the  public  that  they  could  not  have  acquired  other- 
wise. It  brought  together  in  an  organized  body  many  people 
throughout  the  state  who  believed  in,  and  were  willing  to  do 
something  for  the  education  of  the  industrial  classes.  In  the 
very  process  of  organizing  it  was  possible  to  carry  these  ideas 
of  industrial  education  to  the  various  communities  and  to  edu- 
cate many  as  to  their  own  needs  and  their  opportunities. 

The  first  public  proposal  for  the  organization  of  the  Illinois 
industrial  league  was  made  at  the  third  industrial  convention  in 
Chicago,  November  24,  1852.  The  author  of  the  idea,  as  has 
been  noted,  was  Bronson  Murray  of  Ottawa.  In  a  letter  to  Tur- 
ner, dated  "Ottawa,  Nov.  18,  1852."  he  stated  his  purpose:  "I 
have  concluded  to  start  the  league  at  the  Convention I  pro- 
pose the  object  of  that  league  to  be,  the  dissemination  of  knowl- 
edge or  information  upon  the  subject  of  the  University  and  the 
securing  of  its  creation  by  the  legislature  by  means  of  publica- 
tions for  gratuitous  circulation,  lecturers  to  visit  all  parts  of  the 
state,  and  the  defraying  of  expenses  incident  thereto "^ 

Immediately  following  the  chartering  of  the  league  by  the 
legislature  in  February,  1853,  Turner,  as  principal  director,  en- 
tered into  a  contract  with  Dr.  R.  C.  Rutherford  to  lecture 
throughout  the  state  in  the  interests  of  the  league.  He  did  this 
only  after  careful  consideration.  He  says  of  Rutherford  in  a 
letter  of  January,  1853,  to  Bronson  Murray :  "  He  is  an  experi- 
enced, apt  and  popular  lecturer — a  gentleman  who  can  adapt 
himself  to  all  classes,  the  most  learned  and  refined  as  well  as  the 
least. ' '  Then  after  stating  the  terms  on  which  Rutherford  would 
take  the  lecture  field  for  the  league  Turner  continues:    "I  can- 


^Murray  to  Turner,  November  18,  18.52,  Turner  manuRcripts. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  59 

not  but  regard  this  as  a  sort  of  a  God-send  to  us,  but  it  may 
strike  you  differently.  I  have  never  known  a  man  in  the  state 
so  successful  as  a  popular  lecturer  as  Dr.  Rutherford  has  been 
or  so  acceptable  to  all  classes." 

Two  paragraphs  from  the  contract  with  Rutherford  show 
very  definitely  the  purposes  of  the  league  as  set  forth  by  its  prin- 
cipal director  and  the  arduous  duties  imposed  upon  the  lecturer 
who  was  soon  to  take  the  field  : 

''1.  He  shall  devote  his  whole  time  and  energy  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  League  by  lectures  and  otherwise  as  hereafter  speci- 
fied. Using  his  best  endeavor  to  make  known  the  principles  and 
the  objects  of  the  league,  and  especially  its  aim  as  respects  the 
endowment  of  an  Industrial  University  in  all  the  States  for  the 
benefit  of  the  industrial  classes  particularly,  as  well  as  for  all 
others — He  shall  use  his  best  endeavors  to  appoint  in  each  neigh- 
borhood a  sufficient  number  of  competent  agents  of  the  League, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  solicit  the  names,  subscriptions  and  do- 
nations of  members  and  of  others  and  remit  moneys  collected  and 
report  the  names  of  members  monthly  to  the  Chief  Director  of 
the  League. 

"It  is  proposed  that  the  principal  towns  in  the  north  of  the 
State  shall  be  visited,  and  as  soon  and  as  fast  as  practicable,  the 
lectures  and  discussions  shall  be  carried  into  all  the  smaller 
towns  and  school  districts  of  the  State — and  all  practicable 
means  used  to  diffuse  information,  excite  interest,  obtain  mem- 
bers and  subscriptions  as  above  indicated  among  all  ranks  and 
classes  of  Society  in  the  State. '  '^ 

The  contract  specified  that  the  lecturer  should  have  his  ex- 
penses paid  and  receive  six  hundred  dollars  salary  and  twenty- 
five  per  cent  of  monies  remaining  after  expenses  of  the  league 
were  paid.  On  account  of  pressing  family  needs  it  was  several 
months  after  the  above  agreement  was  made  before  Rutherford 
was  able  to  enter  on  his  work  for  the  league.-' 

Meantime  Turner  and  IMurray  were  exerting  themselves  to 

^Memorandum  of  agreement  between  Eutherford  and  Turner,  February 
19,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts. 

^Eutherford  to  Turner,  April  1,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts.     The  exact 
date  for  Eutherford  to  begin  work  was  not  set  in  the  contract. 


60  Hisiorj)  Uiiiver.sihj  of  Illinois 

finance  the  work  that  was  now  upon  them.  It  was  fortunate  for 
their  undertakings  that  ]\Ir.  Murray  was  a  man  of  considerable 
wealth  and  was  willing  to  use  some  of  it  in  this  cause.  Time  and 
again  as  shown  by  his  correspondence  with  Turner  he  backed  up 
the  work  of  the  league  by  loans,  by  giving  his  own  personal 
checks,  and  by  granting  the  use  of  his  credit.  Turner  relied 
greatly  upon  the  good  judgment  and  executive  ability  of  his 
friend  Murray.  On  February  23,  1853,  just  after  making  the 
contract  with  Rutherford,  Turner  wrote  Murray  on  the  subject 
of  finances  as  follows :  ' '  You  mentioned  that  I  could  draw  on 
the  funds  of  the  Chicago  Convention  for  a  certain  amount — I  for- 
get how  much — and  whom  besides  yourself.  I  would  like  now  to 
make  the  draft  if  I  could,  so  as  to  get  Stephens  hold  of  the  work 
for  the  league  as  this  cannot  be  done  without  money  and  my  own 
business  and  collections  have  been  so  much  neglected  this  year 
that  I  shall  not  be  able  either  to  collect  or  advance  anything  of 
my  own  in  all  probability  till  after  payment  for  next  sales  com- 
mission in  full — nor  then  if  I  neglect  it  as  much  as  I  have  been 
obliged  to  neglect  it  for  the  past  months.  A  line  from  Dr.  Ken- 
nicott  shows  him  to  be  in  good  heart  still — same  of  other  friends. ' ' 

The  statements  above  indicate  something  of  the  sacrifice,  of 
money  and  property,  of  time  and  comfort  that  these  farmers  were 
making  in  the  interests  of  a  great  educational  movement. 

While  organizing  the  league  these  men  were  keeping  a  wary 
eye  upon  the  activities  of  the  legislature,  which,  although  it  had 
shown  itself  friendly,  might  at  any  moment  do  something  to  up- 
set all  their  well  laid  plans.  Early  in  February,  Turner  thought 
something  of  this  kind  had  occurred.  In  alarm  he  wrote  to  Mur- 
ray :  "  I  am  in  distress  again — I  was  just  exulting  in  our  com- 
plete triumph  when  I  heard,  through  Lumsden,  that  a  bill  was 
pending  for  a  Charter  for  tJie  University!! 

"  I  do  not  know  but  he  and  others  may  have  alluded  to  this 
before — to  me,  but  if  so  I  always  supposed  they  referred  to  a 
charter  for  the  league. 

' '  I  have  written  Lumsden  to  know  something  more  of  the 
facts  and  to  have  him  suspend  it  if  possible."^  Turner  went  on 
in  his  letter  to  explain  how  dangerous  it  was  at  that  time  to  pro- 

<Turner  to  Murray,  February  5,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  61 

pose  such  a  bill  without  due  reflection  and  consultation  among 
the  friends  of  the  cause. 

The  bill  alluded  to  by  Turner  was  in  good  hands  as  it 
proved.  George  Lumsden  inunediately  explained  his  motive  in 
introducing  the  bill  in  the  legislature  at  that  time  in  a  letter  to 
Murray  which  reveals  his  OAvn  interest  and  activity  as  well  as 
much  of  the  general  feeling  of  the  time. 

"Springfield,  111.,  Feb.  16,  1853. 
B.  Murray,  Esq. 

My  Dear  friend :  Yours  of  the  12th  reached  me  today.  I 
have  just  fijiished  writing  some  dozen  letters,  and  mailing  some 
forty  circulars.  I  intend  to  forward  them  to  all  the  states  and 
territories,  even  that  of  Utah!  I  called  upon  Gov.  Matteson  to- 
day, and  gave  him  some  forty  or  fifty  to  send  into  the  several 
states.  I  asked  his  opinion  of  the  project  of  an  Industrial  Uni- 
versity. He  is  quite  favorable.  He  is  likewise  disposed  to  ex- 
amine a  plan  for  an  'Industrial  University' — similar  in  its  gov- 
ernment to  our  Military  Schools  and  under  the  control  of  the 
State.  My  object  is  to  have  him  report  a  synopsis  of  it  in  his  next 
message,  and  have  the  posts  well  guarded  in  House  and  Senate.  I 
have  examined  the  plan  of  the  Cambridge — 'Harvard  Uni.'  and 
Va.  University,  also  the  Military  Schools.  The  funds  in  the 
hands  of  this  State  obtained  from  the  sales  of  lands  appropriated 
by  U.  S.  expressly  for  the  use  of  a  College  or  University,  and  the 
2  townships  for  the  establishment  of  a  Seyninary  of  Learning, 
cannot,  by  the  law  &  compact  of  the  grant,  be  ultimately  used 
for  any  other  purpose.  The  State  can  loan  the  funds  to  any  pur- 
pose, but  cannot  apply  them  for  any  other  purpose  than  for  what 
they  were  given.  The  law  is  imperative  on  this  point,  &  is  simi- 
lar in  Missouri  and  other  States.  But  the  latest  notion  which  the 
'Priests  of  Baal'  have  deigned  to  utter — is,  that  'the  State  is  in- 
competent to  control  the  subject  of  education'!  'Where  it  has 
been  tried,  it  has  signally  failed'!  'That  the  Church  alone  is 
competent  to  educate  the  people ' ! ! ! !  I  told  the  Protestant 
Priest  who  said  this  to  me,  that  he  had  better  keep  such  thoughts 
to  himself,  or  else  we  should  know  where  to  place  him.  This  is 
the  very  argument  of  the  papists.    If  our  modern  protestants  are 


62  Uislonj  Univcr.siljj  of  Illinois 

going  back  in  principle,  they  had  better  assume  tlie  name  with 
full  honors. 

''Well,  you  seem  to  express  alarm  at  the  work  I  have  been 
about,  when  there  is  really  no  occasion  for  any  whatever.  I  knew 
that  the  only  way  to  get  at  our  object,  was  to  bring  the  subject 
right  up  in  the  Legislature — have  it  discussed  and  let  it  be  re- 
ferred to  some  committee.  But  you  need  not  fear  but  what  I 
had  all  the  matter  in  my  mind.  The  rough  outline  was  passed 
straight  through  the  House — the  amendment  stuck  on  to  it  in  the 
Senate,  and  had  it  been  adopted  &  gone  into  the  House,  I  should 
have  had  it  there  made  perfect,  and  just  to  our  notion.  The  dis- 
cussion alone  was  worth  all  the  trouble  and  pains  I  spent  in  the 
matter.  In  fact  it  was  primarily  for  no  other  object  than  this, — 
and  to  have  its  title  go  out  among  the  proceedings  of  the  House 
and  Senate.  This  would  make  the  Sinnei's  in  Zion  quake  with 
very  fear!  And,  I  tell  you,  I  have  had  my  own  sport  over  the 
long  and  wry  faces  manifested  by  those  'Presidential  College- 
men.'  (Prest.  Wood  has  'looked  daggers'  at  me  more  than  a 
dozen  times.  He  spent  over  two  weeks  here,  &  was  back  &  forth 
the  best  part  of  four  weeks.    This  is  the  key  to  the  whole  story.) 

"The  'Northern  Industrial  College'  is  the  title  of  that  Char- 
ter. It  was  amended  on  its  passage.  It  is  a  good  &  liberal  Char- 
ter &  will  incite  to  a  greater  attention  on  the  subject.  'My  Bill' 
was  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee  (Senate)  and  was  re- 
ported back  &  laid  on  table,  for  want  of  time  to  give  it  that  con- 
sideration the  subject  merited.  Mr.  Judd  attended  to  it  for  me, 
&  did  with  it  as  I  requested,  as  it  would  be  all  right.  But  I '  don't 
intend  to  give  it  up  so,  Mr.  Brown'.  Year  in  &  year  out  shall  we 
make  appeals  to  the  people,  and  to  the  Assembly  in  their  behalf. 
Next  time  we  shall  have  a  good  Bill — fully  submitted  to  all  the 
friends^ — and  with  this  [cut  from  letter]  mendation  of  the  Gov- 
ernor. I  have  written  to  Messrs.  Yates,  Seward,  Giddings, 
Shields  and  Douglas,  besides  to  the  Patent  office  and  Secretary  of 
the  Interior — &  sent  them  Circulars.  Also  to  Govs.  Seymour, 
N.  Y.  &  Wright,  Ind.,  to  many  Agri.  Mech.  and  general  papers, 
etc. 

"We  wish  every  impediment  removed,  and  the  best  educa- 
tional facilities  free  to  the  people ;  free  as  the  sunlight  that  fall- 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  63 

eth  every  Avhere,  and  practical  as  everyman's  pursuits  in  life. 
We  wish  the  sanctities  of  God's  science  to  consecrate  the  alliance 
of  Thought  and  Labor,  of  Hand  &  Brain, — that  greater  impetus 
may  be  given  industrial  science,  as  well  as  all  other.  We  wish 
to  elevate  the  btandard  of  Scientific  and  human  culture,  bettering 
our  race,  and  giving  the  genius  and  resources  of  a  free  people 
ampler  development.  There  must,  then,  be  a  common  interest 
felt  in  all  our  movements. 

' '  Tell  me  if  I  shall  send  you  or  bring  you  more  of  the  circu- 
lars? I  find  that  it  will  require  a  few  dollars  of  blue  stamps  & 
envelopes  to  mail  what  I  have  on  hand — but  we  must  do  this  to 
accomplish  what  we  want.  It  has  cost  me  $6  for  cir.  stamps  and 
envelopes  already.  I  am  short  of  funds,  but  will  try  and  get  up 
in  your  region  as  soon  as  possible.  I  have  no  reason  to  remain 
here  much  longer. '  '^ 

Lumsden  took  the  trouble  to  go  to  Jacksonville  early  in 
March  to  explain  his  actions.  Turner  was  entirely  satisfied  for 
he  wrote  Murray  that  Lumsden  had  managed  the  thing  well.*^  In 
this  same  letter  Turner  discusses  the  possibility  of  having  John 
Davis  of  Decatur  lecture  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  for 
the  league.  The  arrangement  was  never  perfected,  probably  for 
the  lack  of  sufficient  funds. 

During  the  summer  of  1853  Murray  and  Turner  succeeded 
in  devising  a  design  for  the  diplomas  or  certificates  that  they  is- 
sued to  members  of  the  league.'^  They  paid  much  attention  to 
this  detail  for  they  were  anxious  to  interest  the  public.  They  also 
succeeded  in  raising  the  money  to  print  the  pamphlet  which  con- 
tained the  address  of  Turner  to  the  people  on  the  subject  of  in- 
dustrial universities,  as  well  as  a  report  on  work  already  accom- 
plished. This  was  done  in  compliance  with  resolutions  of  the 
Chicago  and  Springfield  conventions  and  under  the  industrial 
league  of  Illinois. 

'Lumsden  to  Murray,  February  16,  1853,  Turner  manuscrii^ts.  The 
circular  referred  to  is  one  containing  Turner's  plan  and  not  the  industrial 
league  pamphlet  issued  a  little  later.  The  signature  is  missing  from  the 
letter  but  on  the  side  margin  of  the  first  page  the  following  appears  in 
Murray's  writing:  "1853  G.  L.  Lumsden  Springfield,  Feby.  16  An.  (an- 
swered) 23  Enclosing  10." 

^Turner  to  Murray,  March  15,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts. 

'For  a  picture  of  the  design  see  p.  15-16. 


64  History  University  of  Illinois 

In  this  address  Turner  expressed  rather  fully  his  own  views 
and  those  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement  on  the  general  subject 
of  industrial  education.  As  the  entire  pamphlet  is  published  in 
full  in  the  appendix,  space  is  taken  for  two  paragraphs  only,  in 
order  to  show  the  drift  of  his  argument  and  the  vigor  of  his  style. 
"Where  did  Socrates,  the  wisest  of  the  Greeks,  and  Cincinnatus, 
the  most  illustrious  of  the  Romans — Washington,  the  father  of 
America,  and  Franklin,  and  Sherman,  and  Kossuth,  and  Down- 
ing, and  Hugh  Miller,  and  a  whole  host  of  worthies,  too  numer- 
ous to  mention,  get  their  education?  They  derived  it  from  their 
connection  with  the  practical  pursuits  of  life,  where  all  other  men 
have  got  theirs,  so  far  forth  as  it  has  proved  of  any  practical  use 
to  themselves  or  the  world. 

"What  we  want  from  schools  is,  to  teach  men,  more  dull  of 
apprehension,  to  derive  their  mental  and  moral  strength,  from 
their  own  pursuits,  whatever  they  are,  in  the  same  way,  and  on 
the  same  principles,  and  to  gather  from  other  sources  as  much 
more  as  they  find  time  to  achieve.  We  wish  to  teach  them  to  read 
books,  only  that  they  may  the  better  read  and  understand  the 
great  volume  of  nature,  ever  open  before  them. '  '^ 

As  an  illustration  of  the  trouble  taken  to  get  this  pamphlet 
to  the  reading  public  a  quotation  is  given  from  the  Ottawa  Free 
Trader  of  November,  1853,  a  few  weeks  after  the  pamphlet  was 
published:  "The  Industrial  League  have  made  a  report  to  the 
people  of  this  State,  upon  the  movement  in  fa^  or  of  the  Indus- 
trial University.  It  is  for  sale  at  the  post  office,  in  OttaAva,  at 
the  cost  of  printing  and  paper,  and  purchasers  Avho  have  read  it 
may,  if  they  choose,  return  it  and  take  up  their  money  if  they  do 
not  seriously  deface  the  copy. 

"The  terms  are  fair,  and  every  person  who  has  a  son  or 
daughter  to  educate  should  read  it. 

"Now  that  the  United  States  government  has  some  10  or 
20  millions  of  surplus  monies,  which  politicians  are  at  a  loss  how 
to  dispose  of  constitutionally,  it  strikes  us  that  this  little  pam- 
phlet provides  a  desirable  solution  of  the  difficulty — Farmers  and 
Mechanics  are  especially  invited  to  attend  to  this. ' ' 


^Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People,  12;  see  appendix,  p.  374. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  65 

During  the  summer  of  1853  the  work  of  the  industrial  league 
was  retarded  by  a  struggle  which  arose  over  the  management  of 
the  hospital  for  the  insane  at  Jacksonville.  A  group  of  men 
commonly  spoken  of  as  the  "clique"  wished  to  manage  the  af- 
fairs of  the  institution  for  their  o-\\ai  pecuniary  benefit  and  Tur- 
ner took  a  leading  part  in  the  battle  that  was  waged  against 
them,  the  outcome  of  which  was  not  only  important  in  itself  but 
held  linked  with  it  the  fortune  of  the  university  movement. 

In  a  letter  to  Bronson  Murray,  Turner  explained  the  gen- 
eral situation:  "This  war,"  he  wrote,  "has  had  a  direct  bear- 
ing upon  our  league  of  industrial  interests,  and  must  necessarily 
delay  them  all  till  it  is  through  or  ruin  them  for  the  present  at 
least  if  our  opponents  are  not  thoroughly  defeated. 

"This  we  all  see  here  but  it  is  too  long  and  complicated  a 
story  to  explain  in  a  letter — But  we  feel  that  they  are  pretty  well 
used  up  now,  and  tUey  feel  it  more  than  we  do — and  I  hope  for 
a  clear  sea,  fair  wind,  and  sailors  rights  even  after  this  most  des- 
perate fight — for  all  admit  that  it  has  been  the  most  desperate 
fight  ever  had  in  the  State — But  we  have  given  them  '  the  grape ' 
to  their  heart's  content  and  now  I  hope  they  will  let  us  alone, 

"And  if  this  job  is  as  thoroughly  done  up  as  we  intend  it 
shall  he,  and  tJiink  it  now  is,  the  University  and  other  State  In- 
stitutions will  hereafter  have  fair  play. '  '^ 

Much  in  regard  to  this  sharp  controversy  found  its  way  into 
the  local  press  and  feelings  were  aroused  to  a  high  pitch,  and  as 
the  fight  grew  more  bitter  it  brought  suffering  to  Turner  and  his 
family.  The  acute  stage  was  reached  near  the  middle  of  October. 
On  the  evening  of  the  13th  M'hile  Turner  was  in  Springfield, 
where  he  had  gone  to  deliver  "The  millennium  of  labor"  address 
before  the  first  state  fair,  his  barns  and  valuable  greenhouses 
were  set  on  fire  in  three  different  places.  The  incendiary  hoped 
to  have  Turner  called  home  and  thus  prevent  him  from  making 
his  address  but  when  informed  by  telegraph  that  his  family  was 
safe  Turner  concluded  not  to  be  outwitted  by  his  enemies  and 
therefore  stayed  to  give  the  address  scheduled.  In  the  end  Tur- 
ner won  an  important  victory  in  his  fight  to  secure  just  and  hon- 
^Tiiruer  to  Murray,  August  9,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts. 


66  IJi.slurij  U}iivcrsit!j  uf  Illinois 

est  management  of  state  funds  but  at  a  saciifiec  that  bore  heavily 
upon  him  and  his  family. 

The  week  of  the  first  state  fair  was  utilized  also  for  a  lecture 
by  R.  C.  Rutherford  who  was  now  in  the  field  in  the  interests 
of  the  league.  The  papers  of  the  day  reported  that  he  gave  an 
able  address  to  hundreds  of  farmers  and  mechanics  at  the  state 
house  in  Springfield.  At  the  close  of  his  address  James  N, 
Brown,  a  farmer  and  the  first  president  of  the  Illinois  state  agri- 
cultural society,  and  Bronson  Murray,  the  corresponding  secre- 
tary of  the  same  society,  made  earnest  pleas  for  the  league  and 
the  things  for  which  it  stood.  "Probably  not  a  person  was  pres- 
ent," said  the  Illinois  Daily  Journal,  "who  did  not  sympathize 
with  this  great  movement  of  our  state  and  age."^^  Thus  the 
league  was  entering  upon  a  campaign  to  carry  the  principles  of 
industrial  education  very  directly  to  the  people  by  means  of  well 
prepared  lectures. 

Late  in  November,  1853,  still  other  plans  were  undertaken 
to  bring  lecturers  into  the  field  and  to  get  the  press  of  the  state 
interested.  Bronson  Murray  went  to  Springfield,  November  23, 
to  attend  an  editorial  convention  before  which  he  urged  the  im- 
portance of  new^spaper  interest  in  behalf  of  agriculture.  The 
editors  agreed  to  assist.  While  there,  Murray,  after  consulta- 
tion with  friends,  decided  it  was  best  that  Turner  should  be  pro- 
vided with  a  sufficient  sum  to  enable  him  to  become  a  lecturer  for 
the  league.  Immediately  he  started  a  subscription  paper  to  raise 
one  thousand  dollars  for  Turner's  salary  for  a  year.  Each  man 
was  to  give  twenty  dollars.  Murray  was  one  of  five  to  sign  at 
once.    He  then  wrote  Turner  what  he  had  done.'^ 

That  he  was  to  become  a  traveling  lecturer  was  by  no  means 
pleasant  news  for  Turner  and  it  Avas  still  less  pleasant  for  his 
family  who  entered  a  vigorous  protest  against  it.  His  friends  at 
home,  too,  thought  it  would  be  ruinous  to  his  business  for  him  to 
leave  home  for  a  single  year  and  so  thought  Turner.  He  wrote 
Murray,  however,  that  if  there  was  no  other  way  to  accomplish 
their  purpose  he  would  go  whatever  the  sacrifice.  "Life  is  short 
and  soon  over, ' '  he  said,  ' '  and  our  W' ork  must  be  done  and  if  we 

^"Illinois  Journal,  October  14,  1853. 

"Murray  to  Turner,  November  25,  1853,  Murray  Manuscripts. 


Activity  Illinois  hidustrial  League  67 

do  it  well,  it  will  matter  little  to  us  through  what  trials  and  self 
denials  it  is  done  a  thousand  years  hence.  "^^ 

That  the  hardships  mentioned  above  were  real  enough  is  in- 
dicated by  a  letter  to  Murray  written  on  Christmas  eve,  1853, 
"I  have  just  returned  from  Jersey ville — rode  twenty-two  miles 
down  in  a  tAvo  horse  wagon  without  cover  or  seats,  on  the  bot- 
tom— coldest  day  this  season,  last  Monday.  Eode  all  night  home 
last  night  in  the  same  way — and  have  got  well  paid  for  my  cold, 
jolting,  and  Avatching. ' ' 

At  Jerseyville  he  had  attended  a  common  school  convention 
and  had  been  allowed  all  the  evenings  and  as  much  time  as  he 
wanted  during  the  day  to  present  his  cause.  The  results  w^ere 
that  he  signed  one  hundred  and  fifty  membership  diplomas  with 
the  prospect  that  five  hundred  more  would  be  called  for  later ; 
he  sold  all  the  league  pamphlets  he  had  for  ten  cents  each,  and 
took  orders  for  many  more  which  he  w^as  to  forward  later ;  he 
saw  the  county  organized  and  a  county  league  superintendent  or 
agent  chosen ;  and  above  all  by  this  trip  he  won  the  certain  sup- 
port of  Jersey,  Green,  and  Macoupin  counties. ^^ 

During  the  holidays.  Turner  was  busy  writing  letters  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  and  also  with  the  preparation  of  an  address  of 
the  Jerseyville  convention  to  the  people  of  the  state.  The  con- 
vention had  insisted  he  should  do  this  and  he  had  agreed  for  the 
sake  of  getting  his  ideas  through  the  committee  and  sanctioned 
by  the  convention. 

During  the  next  month  and  a  half  Turner  and  Eutherford 
visited  and  lectured  together  in  Alton,  Upper  Alton,  Carlinville, 
and  Edwardsville  in  southern  Illinois,  and  in  Chicago,  Elgin, 
and  Peoria  in  northern  Illinois.  On  January  5  and  6,  1854,  Tur- 
ner delivered  lectures  on  common  school  education  and  on  the 
industrial  league  in  Alton.  Both  the  Alto7i  Telegrapli  and  the 
Courier  gave  notices  and  reports  of  the  meeting.  The  effect  was 
satisfactory  to  Turner  and  to  the  people.  The  Telegrapli  stated 
that  the  lecturer  repelled  the  charge  of  "new  f angled  notions," 
and  * '  visionary  schemes, ' '  and  held  the  attention  of  his  audience 
for  nearly  two  hours.    At  the  close  of  the  address  the  following 

^''Turner  to  Murray,  December  8,  1853,  Murray  manuscripts, 
"Turner  to  Murraj^,  December  24,  1853,  Murray  manuscripts. 


68  History  University  of  Illinois 

resolution  was  passed  unanimously:  '' Resolved,  that  the  system 
of  education  proposed  for  the  consideration  of  the  people  of  Illi- 
nois by  the  friends  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  League,  is  worthy  of 
the  highest  regard  of  all  classes  of  our  citizens,  and  especially  of 
our  industrial  classes,  and  men  of  business  and  property  in  our 
towns  and  great  commercial  centers,  "i** 

On  the  Monday  following  the  Alton  meeting  both  the  lectur- 
ers spoke  before  an  audience  in  the  Methodist  church  in  Ed- 
wardsville.  They  were  received  in  the  same  favorable  way  by 
the  people  and  the  press  as  they  had  been  in  Alton.  Measures 
were  taken  to  organize  a  county  industrial  league  and  a  set  of 
resolutions  similar  to  those  passed  by  the  Alton  meeting  was 
adopted. 

From  Edwardsville  they  went  to  Chicago,  where  they  ar- 
rived on  Thursday,  January  12,  and  remained  for  two  weeks. 
They  succeeded  in  arousing  a  great  deal  of  comment  and  discus- 
sion not  only  in  the  meetings  held,  but  in  the  press  of  the  city. 
The  Daily  Tribune,  Daily  Democrat,  Democratic  Press,  Cliicago 
Journal,  CJiicago  Press,  Free  West  and  certain  German  papers 
gave  notices  of  the  meetings,  reports  of  the  addresses,  and  fre- 
quent editorials. 

The  first  lecture  by  Turner  was  given  on  the  evening  of  Fri- 
day, January  13,  and  the  second  the  evening  following.  During 
the  next  week  Rutherford  and  Turner  lectured  in  each  of  the 
public  schools  of  the  city.  The  attention  of  the  city  council  was 
drawn  to  the  subject  by  resolutions  of  one  of  the  meetings  and 
it  voted  to  authorize  the  mayor  to  issue  a  proclamation  calling  a 
mass  meeting  of  citizens.  A  public  hall  was  appropriated  by  the 
council  for  the  meeting,  and  a  resolution  passed  that  that  body 
itself  would  attend. 

The  call  read  as  follows :  ' '  The  citizens  of  Chicago  are  re- 
quested to  meet  at  the  South  Market  Hall  this  evening,  January 
25th  to  take  into  consideration  the  subject  of  establishing  an  In- 
dustrial University  and  State  Normal  School,  and  to  petition  the 
Legislature  to  appropriate  the  Seminary  Fund  for  that  purpose. 

Bj'  order  of  the  Council, 

C.  M.  Gray,  Mayor." 

^*Alton  Telegraph,  January  7,  1854;  see  also  Courier,  January  7,  1854. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  69 

The  Mechanics  institute,  a  literaiy  association,  took  up  the 
matter  also  and  issued  the  following  call  to  mechanics  of  Chi- 
cago :  ' '  The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Mechanics  Institute  have 
had  under  consideration  the  contemplated  meeting  of  the  'Illi- 
nois Industrial  League'  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  an  expres- 
sion from  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  in  reference  to  their  plan  of 
an  Industrial  University,  and  system  of  Common  Schools.  It 
purports  to  be  a  scheme  to  bring  education  home  to  the  people 
of  this  state — the  great  industrial  classes ;  and  we  are  fully  per- 
suaded that  this  is  a  cause  that  demands  the  immediate  attention 
and  instant  action  of  every  mechanic  in  the  city.  If  the  plan  is 
what  it  is  represented  to  be  by  the  press  and  its  numerous  ad- 
vocates, now  is  the  time  for  the  mechanics  of  this  State,  jointly 
with  other  industrial  classes,  to  assert  their  rights  in  respect  to 
this  matter  of  Education  for  the  people. 

''The  Mechanics  of  Chicago  are  hereby  especially  and 
earnestly  requested  to  unite  and  turn  out  en  masse,  to  meet  our 
friends  of  the  league,  at  SOUTH  MARKET  HALL,  next 
Wednesday  evening,  January  25th,  at  half  past  seven  o'clock. 

P.  Graff,  Pres. 
J.  Deer  Ives  Schovill 

E.  Me  Arthur  Nobel  Martin 

S.  D.  Childs  Geo.  P.  Hansen 

Directors  Mechanics  Institute.  "^^ 

Some  of  the  objections  to  the  plan  had  been  presented  to  the 
public  by  the  Democratic  Press  in  temperate  language  on  the  day 
before  the  mass  meeting  in  an  article  headed,  ' '  Industrial  Uni- 
versity." Though  this  paper  Avas  the  only  one  which  came  out 
with  objections,  it  may  have  voiced  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
a  considerable  number  of  people.  In  any  case  it  seems  well  to 
note  what  the  objections  were: 

' '  A  part  of  the  plan  is  to  secure  from  the  state  the  *  Seminary 
Fund, '  amounting  to  about  $150,000,  and  to  appropriate  the  same 
to  the  endowment  of  this  Industrial  University.  Every  man  and 
child  in  the  state  has  an  interest  in  this  fund.  It  has  been  set 
sacredly  apart  for  a  specific  object,  and  it  should  not  be  diverted 

^Illinois  Journal,  January  31,  1854.     These  calls  appeared  in  many  of 
the  Chicago  papers. 


70  History  Universitjj  of  Jllinois 

from  its  original  destination,  unless  it  is  clear  that  such  change 
will  better  accomplish  the  end  desired. 

"Thus  far,  with  here  and  there  a  solitary  bad  working  ex- 
ception, the  higher  education  of  this  country  has  been  secured 
through  the  agency,  or  particular  patronage,  of  the  religious  de- 
nominations. Almost  all  the  colleges  of  the  land  are  thus  iden- 
tified and  are  thus  sustained.  This  remark  does  not  apply  to 
our  system  of  Common  Schools,  for  in  these  latter  institutions 
only  elementary  branches  have  been  taught,  and  the  whole  people 
could  well  unite  in  their  support  since  they  do  not,  in  any  respect, 
influence  the  religious  proclivities  or  sentiments  of  the  pupils  at- 
tending them.  But  a  new  principle  steps  in  the  moment  the 
higher  institutions  are  introduced.  All  history  is  more  or  less 
theological,  biography  is  eminently  so,  and  a  man's  religious  be- 
lief is  sure  to  be  colored  by  his  metaphysics.  This  being  the  fact, 
the  different  religious  denominations  of  the  country  have  pre- 
ferred, by  voluntary  effort,  to  sustain  each  its  own  particular 
institutions,  in  which  hooks  and  teachers  of  its  own  selection  are 
employed  to  give  the  wished  for  bias  to  the  youthfid  minds  sent 
thither. 

"Upon  this  point,  as  showing  how  far  religious  sentiment 
is  directed  by  the  colleges  of  the  country,  much  might  be  said, 
but  no  more  is  necessary  to  carry  a  correct  conception  of  the  diffi- 
culty which  it  seems  to  us  lies,  in  this  fact,  at  the  very  threshold 
of  the  proposed  University. 

"The  money  of  the  whole  people  is  to  endow  it.  Its  advan- 
tages, therefore,  should  be  free  alike  to  all.  What  works  in  bi- 
ography, in  history,  in  metaphysics,  will  be  introduced 

But  suppose  this  difficulty  to  be  succesfully  overcome,  and  that 
all  classes  of  citizens  feel  an  equal  interest  and  an  equal  pride  in 
the  University, — then  the  inquiry  comes  up,  who  of  the  many 
thousand  youths,  each  alike  entitled  to  its  advantages,  are  to  he 
the  fortunate  recipients?  By  what  rule  of  right  or  justice  shall 
the  selection  be  made  ?  To  what  Board  will  the  arbitrament  of  this 
important  question  be  submitted  1  And  what  grounds  have  we  for 
supposing  that  their  awards  will  be  received  kindly  and  submis- 
sively by  the  many  who  are  thrust  aside  for  the  favored  and  for- 
tunate few?    For,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  unless  the  system 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  71 

can  be  so  extended  as  to  bring  its  advantages  within  the  reach 
of  the  sons  of  every  tax-payer  of  the  state,  it  must  forever  re- 
main obnoxious  to  the  charge  of  this  injustice — that  it  employs 
the  money  of  one  man  for  the  education  of  the  sons  of  another.  It 
may  be  possible  that  such  an  extension  can  be  effected,  but  it 
does  not  strike  us  as  being  among  the  possibilities. 

''Other  objections  have  occurred  to  us,  but  these  must  suf- 
fice for  the  present.  If  what  we  have  already  advanced  are  sat- 
isfactorily set  aside,  we  shall  feel  encouraged  to  offer  others.  It 
may  be  that  the  friends  of  the  measure  have  thought  over  these 
objections,  and  they  are  prepared  to  show^  that  they  have  so  mod- 
elled it  as  to  o])viate  not  only  them  but  all  others  which  have  oc- 
curred to  us.  If  this  be  so,  then  we  have  to  ask  them  once  more 
whether  it  would  not  be  easier  and  attended  with  better  results, 
to  so  modify  our  present  system  of  Collegiate  and  University  ed- 
ucation as  to  answer  all  demands  which  are  pressing  upon  it,  than 
it  will  be  to  commence  at  the  foundation  and  build  up  a  system 
that  must  necessarily  clash  more  or  less  with  the  old  one,  which 
it  will  be  admitted  seems  not  only  venerable  for  its  antiquity,  but 
to  be  lived  and  admired  no  little  for  the  good  it  has  clone."^'' 

The  Free  West  as  well  as  several  other  Chicago  papers  pre- 
sented Turner's  arguments  for  an  industrial  university.  They 
mentioned  now,  as  had  the  Granville  resolutions  some  two  years 
before,  "that  the  plan  for  an  Industrial  University  would  not  ob- 
struct, but  greatly  promote  the  prosperity  of  existing  literary 
institutions.  The  physical  and  social  development  promoted  by 
it  would  only  increase  the  demand  for  the  system  of  liberal  edu- 
cation which  the  colleges  then  furnished,  "i" 

The  mass  meeting  of  January  25  was  entirely  satisfactory 
to  the  friends  of  the  cause ;  it  was  presided  over  by  the  mayor  of 
the  city  and  was  well  attended  by  representatives  of  all  profes- 
sions, and  occupations.  "Professor  Turner's  address,"  said  the 
Illinois  Journal,  ' '  was  an  elaborate  and  very  able  exposition  of 
the  proposed  plan  for  an  Industrial  University,  winding  up  with 
an  overwhelming  reply  to  the  objections  raised  against  it.'^    The 

^Wemocratic  Press,  January  24,  1854. 
^''Free  West,  about  January  24,  1854. 
^^Illinois  Journal,  January  31,  1854. 


72  History  University  of  Illinois 

following  resolutions  were  presented  by  Mr.  Collins,  who  sup- 
ported them  with  an  able  address: 

"  'Resolved,  That  this  meeting  cordially  approves  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  Industrial  University  in  this  State  and  in  each 
State  in  our  Union,  in  accordance  with  the  unanimous  resolves 
of  our  Senators  and  Representatives  at  the  last  session  of  the 
legislature,  and  the  general  plan  submitted  to  the  consideration 
of  our  people  by  various  conventions  and  friends  of  the  cause. 

**  'Resolved,  That  we  can  see  no  reason  why  such  an  insti- 
tution is  not  only  practicable  but  peculiarly  necessary  to  the 
highest  perfection  and  success  of  our  Common  Schools,  and  all 
our  other  institutions  and  interest  of  whatever  sort. 

' '  '  Resolved,  That  we  approve  of  the  plan  of  the  voluntary  or- 
ganization or  our  citizens,  so  congenial  to  our  habits  and  so  need- 
ful and  efficient  in  all  other  causes  proposed  by  the  members  of 
the  Illinois  Industrial  League,  and  would  commend  this  asso- 
ciation to  the  favorable  regard  of  all  our  fellow  citizens  in  the 
State  of  Illinois. ' 

* '  Mr.  J.  Y.  Scammon  seconded  the  resolutions,  and  followed 
Mr.  Collins  in  a  powerful  argument  in  favor  of  the  institution, 
declaring  '  he  was  in  for  it  to  the  hilt. ' 

' '  The  resolutions  were  passed  by  acclamation,  with  but  one 
dissenting  voice. 

"The  meeting  then  closed  and  the  papers  were  circulated 
for  names  of  members  of  a  branch  league  to  be  formed  in  this 
city.  "19 

From  Chicago  Rutherford  and  Turner  went  to  Elgin,  where 
at  least  three  lectures  were  given,  A  county  director  and  com- 
mittee of  five  were  chosen  to  organize  the  whole  county  into  a 
league.    At  this  place  they  did  not  meet  a  word  of  opposition.^o 

On  February  3  and  4  lectures  were  given  in  Peoria  to  good 
sized  audiences.  The  Daily  Press  had  printed  an  extended  ar- 
ticle on  January  30,  1854,  discussing  the  proposition  of  ' '  appro- 
priating the  seminary  fund  for  the  endowment  of  an  industrial 
university."    The  writer  under  the  name  of  "Lamda"  did  not 

^^Illinois  Journal,  January  31,  1854. 

^Turner  to  Murray,  January  30,  1854,  Murray  Manuscripts. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  73 

approve,  for  he  thought  that  the  establishment  of  an  industrial 
university  would  be  in  the  interest  of  the  few  rather  than  the 
masses.  In  his  opinion  the  seminary  fund  should  be  used  for 
the  public  school  system.  However,  the  reports  of  the  meetings 
in  the  Press,  together  with  those  appearing  in  the  Peoria  Eepuh- 
lican  and  the  Morning  News,  were  entirely  favorable.^i 

At  Peoria  Rutherford  and  Turner  separated.  Turner  went 
direct  to  Bloomington  where  on  February  9  he  addressed  a  rep- 
resentative audience  on  "Education  as  connected  with  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  industrial  university,  normal  and  common 
schools.  "2-  One  of  the  important  results  of  this  meeting  was 
the  organization  of  a  branch  industrial  league  for  McLean  county 
with  Jesse  Fell  as  its  director.  Turner  reached  home  February 
11,  and  immediately  wrote  Bronson  Murray  that  they  had  tri- 
umphed at  Elgin  and  Peoria  and  that  at  Bloomington  their  vic- 
tory had  been  more  complete  that  at  any  other  place.  ''Roe," 
he  wrote,  ''never  opened  his  mouth  after  a  two  hours'  onslaught 
from  me.  All  there  is  in  the  town  worth  getting  we  have  got. '  '^^ 
Turner  valued  the  fact  that  Jesse  Fell  had  joined  them  and  twice, 
in  his  letter  he  advised  ]\Iurray  to  confer  with  Fell  and  to  tell 
him  all  he  wanted  to  frankly.  The  relations  of  Turner  and  Fell 
became  very  important  for  the  two  men  worked  together  in  har- 
mony for  the  establishment  of  a  state  normal  school  and  a  state 
industrial  university. 

After  leaving  Turner  at  Peoria  in  February  Rutherford  held 
meetings  alone  in  sixteen  places  in  northern  Illinois.  In  the 
order  visited  they  were  as  follows :  Henry,  Lacon,  Ottawa,  Lock- 
port,  0+tawa,  Peru,  LaSalle,  Aurora,  Princeton,  Moline,  Rock 
Island,  Belvidere,  Geneseo,  Moline,  Pekin,  and  Freeport.  Be- 
sides these  sixteen  places  he  canvassed  Stephenson  county  in 

'^Daily  Press  (Peoria),  January  30,  1854.  The  seminary  fund  by  fed- 
eral law  creating  it  was  intended  to  be  used  for  an  institution  of  higher 
learning  in  the  state  and  not  for  common  schools.  Tliis  subject  is  discussed 
below  p.  156. 

"J.  H.  Burnham,  tSome  Influences  Which  Led  to  the  Foundation  of  the 
Normal  University,  6. 

^'Turner  to  Murray,  February  12,  1854,  Murray  manuscripts.  Edward 
Reynolds  Eoe  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Illinois  Wesleyan 
college  and  therefore  a  natural  enemy  of  the  Industrial  University  idea. 


74  Hisfory  Universitij  of  Illinois 

company  with  F.  W.  S.  Brawley,  school  superintendent  of  that 
county. 

During  this  period  Rutherford  kept  Turner  informed  of 
the  progress  he  was  making  by  writing  letters  full  of  good  humor 
and  witticisms  that  helped  no  doubt  to  relieve  the  strain  under 
which  they  worked.  He  kept  Murray  informed  by  frequent  visits 
to  his  home  in  Ottawa.  In  regard  to  the  meeting  at  Henry  he 
wrote:  "'I  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours'  —  resolu- 
tions carried  by  rising  vote,  every  man  and  woman  on  their 
feet.  "2^  He  reported  taking  the  names  of  seventy-one  persons 
for  memberships  and  the  sale  of  sixty  copies  of  the  league's  re- 
port at  this  place.  At  the  next  place  he  took  sixty  names  for 
memberships  and  so  on  seldom  obtaining  less  than  twenty-five  at 
any  one  place. 

Rutherford  met  some  opposition.  At  Ottawa  he  met  a 
"snag"  in  the  person  of  a  Judge  Dickey  Avho  felt  injured  that  he 
had  not  been  consulted  about  league  affairs.  In  this  case  he 
wrote  that  he  thought  he  had  best  "  float  around  this  snag.'' 
At  Belvidere  he  found  another  situation.  "I  found  a  nasty  spot 
of  work  done  up  at  Belvidere.  The  adjourned  meeting  that  I 
spoke  about  was  attended  by  only  from  six  to  ten  persons  with 
Elder  Rae  (Baptist)  at  their  head.  They  wholly  perverted  and 
misrepresented  all  our  aims  and  propositions  and  came  to  the 
conclusion — one  man  dissenting  and  denying  their  grounds — 
that  they  were  bound  to  oppose  it  whereupon  they  adjourned. 
The  editor  too,  a  man  whose  head  does  'grow  beneath  his  shoul- 
ders' with  no  brains  above  his  cheek  bones  is  out  against  it  with 
the  usual  knock  down  argument  '  humbug '."^^  Rutherford 
planned  to  return  there  later  and  straighten  things  out  in  good 
style.  However,  with  the  one  or  two  exceptions  as  shov/n  by  Ruth- 
erford's letters  and  by  an  article  written  by  him,^^  the  meetings 
were  well  attended  and  were  composed  of  the  most  prominent 
and  intelligent  citizens  of  the  places  visited.  In  most  cases  res- 
olutions were  passed  endorsing  the  cause  and  earnestly  recom- 
mending   prompt,    energetic,    and    immediate    action    on    the 


-•Kutherford  to  Turner,  April  19,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts. 
"Rutherford  to  Turner,  April  19,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts. 
"'^Prairie  Farmer,  June,  1854. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  75 

part  of  the  whole  people  for  its  advancement.  Early  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1854  they  found  it  necessary  to  suspend  the  calling  of 
meetings  on  account  of  the  fact  that  farmers  were  busy  in  their 
fields. 

Besides  the  campaign  of  lectures  throughout  the  state  the 
"industrial"  men  were  not  overlooking  other  agencies  that  might 
advance  their  cause.  On  December  26,  1853,  an  important  ed- 
ucational convention  was  held  in  Bloomington.  It  had  been  called 
by  some  thirty  persons,  twenty  of  whom  were  college  presidents 
or  professors,  and  judged  by  its  results  it  was  a  very  successful 
meeting.  It  urged  the  appointment  of  a  state  school  superin- 
tendent and  within  two  months  a  special  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture authorized  such  an  official.  It  organized  the  State  teachers ' 
institute  w^hich  on  February  14,  1855,  received  a  charter  under 
the  name  of  the  Illinois  state  teachers '  institute  which  in  turn  in 
December,  1856,  was  changed  to  Illinois  state  teachers'  associa- 
tion. It  originated  the  Illinois  Teaclier,  one  of  the  first  notable 
school  journals  of  the  state.  It  urged  the  legislature  to  establish 
a  normal  school,  which  was  accomplished  some  three  years  later. 
It  advocated  a  bill  for  free  schools  and  in  1855  the  legislature 
passed  the  essential  features  of  the  present  school  law.^^ 

In  this  convention  there  were  some  enemies  of  Turner  and 
his  cause.  Bronson  Murray  wrote  Turner  on  December  30,  four 
days  after  the  convention,  that  everything  went  off  well  at  the 
educational  convention.  ' '  You  were  attacked, ' '  he  said, ' '  by  Rut- 
ledge  and  Roe  and  this  brought  out  some  friends  of  whom  I  did 
not  know  we  had  any  in  the  Convention  save  Arney.  We  were 
victorious  throughout  and  have  the  most  important  committees 
growing  out  of  the  Teachers'  Convention  and  the  most  important 
office  for  our  purpose  in  the  Teachers '  Institute  which  was  formed 
then." 

The  above  statement  by  Murray,  later  action  by  other  con- 
ventions, and  the  friendly  relations  with  such  men  as  Jesse  Fell 
indicate  that  the  industrial  movement  had  become  an  imposing 
one  in  the  state. 

As  a  result  of  the  work  of  Rutherford  in  Stephenson  county, 
an  educational  convention  was  called  at  Free'port  for  June  22, 

"'Buniham,  Some  of  the  Influences  which  led  to  the  Foundation  of  the 
Normal  University,  5. 


76  History  University  of  Illinois 

185-1.  In  a  letter  to  Turner,  Rutherford  confessed  that  he  put 
the  idea  into  the  heads  of  some  friends  who  carried  it  f orward.^s 
It  was  well  attended  by  citizens  of  Stephenson  county  and  by 
a  goodly  number  from  a  distance.  The  chairman  of  the  conven- 
tion was  John  A.  Clarke.  The  principal  lectures  and  speeches 
were  given  by  the  Reverend  Samuel  Newberry  of  Dubuque,  Iowa, 
J.  B.  Turner,  Bronson  Murray,  and  Dr.  Rutherford.  A  young 
Mr,  Clarke,  brother  of  the  chairman,  was  reported  by  Dr.  Kenni- 
cott  to  have  made  the  best  individual  speech. 

Although  many  attended  as  opponents  of  the  industrial  uni- 
versity plan  all  the  resolutions  introduced  by  the  friends  of  the 
plan  were  unanimously  adopted.  The  convention  resolved:  to 
approve  of  the  industrial  league  and  its  plans ;  to  call  on  the  leg- 
islature to  appropriate  the  university  fund  for  an  industrial  uni- 
versity and  the  seminary  fund  for  a  normal  school ;  and  to  ask 
congress  to  appropriate  lands  for  the  endowment  of  an  indus- 
trial university  in  each  state  of  the  union. ^9 

Besides  the  lectures  and  conventions  of  this  year  there  was 
great  activity  of  a  political  nature  among  the  friends  of  the 
league.  They  felt  it  essential,  judging  from  their  past  experi- 
ences, to  have  political  power  back  of  their  movement  if  they 
were  to  succeed. 

In  February  and  March  friends  of  Turner  made  an  attempt 
to  persuade  Governor  Joel  A.  Mattcson  to  appoint  Turner  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  an  office  that  had  just  been 
created.  On  February  27  Bronson  Murray  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  governor  urging  Turner's  appointment.  Turner  wrote  his 
friends  that  he  did  not  want  the  office  but  he  would  be  guided  by 
their  desires.  Many  petitions  in  behalf  of  Turner  were  sent  to 
the  governor  from  various  parts  of  the  state.  Opposition  in 
Democratic  ranks  was  too  powerful,  however,  and  Matteson  be- 
ing a  Democrat  naturally  was  much  influenced  by  it.  He  did  not 
appoint  Turner,  but  did  appoint  Ninian  W.  Edwards  instead.^" 

"■Rutherford  to  Turner,  April  30,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 

*For  an  account  of  this  convention  see  Prairie  Farmer,  August,  1854, 
and  Illinois  Journal,  July  25,  1854. 

'°In  saying  this  there  is  no  intention  of  casting  any  reflection  on 
Edwards.  He  was  well  known  in  the  state,  having  been  attorney-general 
and  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He  was  the  son  of  a  former  governor  and 
had  many  influential  friends. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  77 

It  is  quite  possible  that  Governor  Matteson  feared  such  a  staunch 
opponent  of  corruption  as  Turner,  for  the  governor  \ras  involved 
even  at  this  time  in  certain  questionable  doings  for  some  of  which 
he  was  later  indicted  by  the  grand  jury  of  Sangamon  county .^i 

Later  in  the  year  friends  of  Bronson  Murray  considered  him 
as  a  possible  candidate  either  for  the  state  legislature  or  as  a 
representative  from  his  district  to  congress,  but  for  various  rea- 
sons these  plans  failed.  It  is  possible  that  these  men  were  not 
astute  enough  to  hope  to  win  in  the  political  field.  However,  they 
were  not  very  much  disappointed  for  they  were  not  making  poli- 
tics an  end  in  itself  but  endeavoring  to  employ  it  as  a  means  to 
accomplish  their  main  purpose,  advancement  of  industrial  ed- 
ucation, as  is  clearly  evident  from  their  confidential  correspon- 
dence. 

The  movement  for  a  state  university  or  for  a  state  agricul- 
tural college  was  beginning  in  other  states.  Many  of  them  were 
watching  with  keen  interest  what  was  transpiring  in  Illinois. 
Dr.  George  F.  Magoun  of  Burlington,  Iowa,  later  the  first  pres- 
ident of  Iowa  college,  Grinnell,  in  a  letter  of  Februaiy  25,  1854, 
asked  Turner  for  information  which  he  and  others  might  lay  be- 
fore the  people  of  Iowa  Avho  were  soon  to  take  up  the  question 
of  a  state  university,  A.  G.  Henry  of  Lafayette,  Oregon  terri- 
toiy,  a  representative-elect  to  the  legislature,  asked  for  a  detailed 
plan  of  a  state  industrial  university  and  pledged  his  support  to 
the  Illinois  movement.  In  April  President  Henry  P.  Tappan 
of  the  University  of  Michigan  wrote  that  he  approved  of  congress 
granting  lands  to  educational  institutions  and  that  he  was  wil- 
ling to  enter  into  a  league  to  bring  this  about.  In  May  President 
F.  G.  Gary  of  College  Hill,  Ohio,  invited  Turner  to  deliver  an 
address  before  an  industrial  convention,  adding  that  he  re- 
garded the  work  Turner  was  doing  "  as  the  great  work  of  the 
age,  and  one  vital  to  the  physical  interests  and  well  being  of  our 
country. ' ' 

Turner  replied  to  this  letter  in  such  manner  as  greatly  to 

'^Bateman  and  Selby,  Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  Sangamon 
county,  1:356. 


78  irislo)'!)  Uiiiversihi  of  lJli)iois 

impress  President  Cary  and  the  board  of  trustees  of  Farmer's 
College.  They  called  the  north  west  industrial  convention  for 
September  13,  14,  and  15,  1854  and  invited  prominent  leaders 
from  east  and  west  to  come  and  address  them.  Turner  and  Mur- 
ray planned  to  go  together  to  the  convention  but  due  to  overwork 
Turner  was  stricken  with  an  inflammation  of  his  eyes  which 
nearly  caused  permanent  blindness ;  for  this  reason  he  was  unable 
to  make  the  trip ;  Murray  attended,  however,  and  was  active  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  meeting.  One  of  the  important  results 
was  the  adoption  of  a  series  of  five  resolutions,  the  last  of  v^'hicli 
urged  the  friends  of  industrial  education  to  agitate  the  subject  by 
means  of  press,  lectures,  and  conventions,  so  as  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  public  to  the  importance  of  individual  and  of 
governmental  action.^^  Though  Turner  could  not  attend  he  did 
furnish  on  the  urgent  request  of  President  Cary  a  copy  of  an  ad- 
dress, "A  discourse  on  American  Education,"  to  be  published  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  convention. 

Through  tbe  year  1854  both  ]\rn]'ray  and  Turner  carried  on 
voluminous  correspondence  in  conducting  the  work  of  the  indus- 
trial league.  This  was  true  of  Turner  even  after  he  was  afflicted 
with  temporary  blindness  and  had  to  sit  in  a  darkened  room  and 
dictate  his  letters  to  a  member  of  his  family  through  a  crack  in 
the  door  of  his  room.  That  these  activities  bore  fruit  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  in  January  ]\Ir.  E.  Abbott  of  the  Valley  Farmer 
at  St  Louis,  requested  Turner  to  discuss  the  work  of  the  league 
in  that  paper  while  Victor  Bell  of  Mt.  Carmel  requested  a  copy 
of  the  "Plan  for  an  industrial  university"  and  certain  other  ma- 
terial which  he  expected  to  use  while  attending  the  coming  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature. 

For  several  years  Kcnnicott,  Turner,  and  Murray  had  been 
dissatisfied  A\ith  the  lukcwai-m  attitude  of  the  Prairie  Farmer 
under  the  management  of  its  editor  John  Wright.  It  was  true 
he  had  published  many  of  their  articles,  but,  they  felt  he  was  al- 
ways trailing  and  they  pointed  to  the  fact  that  he  had  advised, 
just  following  the  Granville  convention,  that  Illinois  wait  and  let 
some  one  of  the  older  states  lead  in  the  movement. 


"See  accoiiut  of  the  convention,  Prairie  Farmer,  October,  1854. 


Activity  Tllinois  Industrial  League  79 

During  this  summer  the  subject  of  getting  an  official  organ 
for  the  league  was  much  discussed  among  them.  On  June  13, 
Murray  wrote  Turner  that  his  letter  on  the  subject  of  ' '  starting 
at  once  a  State  political  paper  at  Springfield  which  should  be  in 
full  sympathy  with  our  cause,  and  the  interests  of  the  Industrial 
Classes,  etc."  had  been  received.  He  said  further  "Up  to  this 
point  I  am  with  you  and  am  content  to  be  one  of  the  $100  men 
to  make  out  the  $10,000 but  as  to  pledging  the  paper  en- 
tirely to  any  particular  persons  I  would  not  be  a  party  to  the 
subscription."  Kennicott  wrote  Turner  on  June  8  that  he  was 
heartily  in  favor  of  having  an  organ  of  their  own.  He  thought 
it  should  be  a  "nominally"  weekly  agricultural  paper  but  really 
the  mouth-piece  of  the  industrial  league. 

On  August  5  Simeon  Francis,  editor  of  the  Tllinois  Journal, 
wrote  Turner  favoring  the  movement  for  a  paper  but  advising 
that  both  Turner  and  Murray  keep  out  of  sight  as  leaders  for 
they  had  enemies  and  it  might  prove  injurious  if  it  wore  known 
that  the  leading  "industrial"  men  were  at  the  head  of  it.  He 
expressed  the  belief  that  it  was  unwise  for  the  industrial  league 
and  the  state  agricultural  society  to  become  active  in  politics 
because  these  societies  had  friends,  and  enemies,  as  well,  in  all 
the  parties.  Negotiations  were  carried  to  the  point  of  obtaining 
more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  subscriptions  to  finance  the 
project,  of  arranging  for  an  office  and  for  equipment,  and  then 
the  whole  plan  was  abandoned.  Apparently  the  objections  and 
difficulties  outweighed  any  advantages  to  be  gained  by  carrying 
the  project  to  a  conclusion. 

In  the  autumn  of  1854  plans  were  advanced  for  bringing  in- 
fluence to  bear  on  the  legislature  that  would  meet  the  coming 
winter.  At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  state  agricultural  so- 
ciety held  in  the  state  house  at  Springfield,  October  6,  a  series  of 
resolutions  was  adopted,  in  which  the  logislaturc  was  asked  to 
appropriate  funds  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  that 
would  meet  the  educational  wants  of  the  industrial  classes.^^ 

On  October  20,  Murray  sent  Turner  his  ideas  concerning  the 
beginnings  of  their  university.  It  bore  the  heading  ' '  Suggestions 
for  basis  of  Illinois  Industrial  universitv. ' '    He  took  for  a  model 


"Murray  to  Turner,  February  20,  1855,  Tiiruer  manuscripts. 


80  History  University  of  Illinois 

Farmer's  college  in  Ohio  to  which  he  had  paid  a  visit  only  the 
month  before.  Coming  from  a  practical  farmer  and  an  educated 
man  who  had  been  thinking  along  these  lines  for  several  years 
his  suggestions  are  interesting.^'*  Some  of  them  were  embodied  in 
a  bill  that  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  the  following  winter. 

By  no  means  all  the  important  activities  of  these  men  dur- 
ing the  year  1854  have  been  mentioned.  For  example,  Turner  lec- 
tured in  St.  Louis  and  other  places ;  he  prepared  or  at  least  he 
said  he  was  going  to  prepare  a  university  bill  for  presentation  in 
congress  at  the  request  of  Richard  Yates  y^^  he  journeyed  through 
various  parts  of  the  state  talking  with  men  on  the  cars  and  in 
hotels,  directly  or  indirectly  influencing  them  to  think  and  to  act 
for  the  cause  of  industrial  education.  That  the  league  leaders 
were  hopeful  and  enthusiastic  at  this  time  is  shown  by  a  letter 
of  Dr.  Rutherford  to  Turner  from  Danville,  Illinois,  under  date 
of  November  10,  1854:  "The  Work  goes  bravely  on.  The  wind 
stands  on  every  tack  in  the  best  quarter.  More  has  been  done  in 
the  last  six  weeks  for  our  cause  than  in  the  whole  year  preceding. 
We  have  circulars  published  to  the  various  county  agricultural 
societies  at  the  expense  and  under  favor  of  the  State  Society. 
Two  more  are  to  be  issued  one  to  call  a  convention  and  the  other 
to  ask  for  aid." 

In  the  same  letter  Rutherford  said  that  he  was  meeting  with 
the  best  success  wherever  he  went.  In  Urbana  on  a  notice  of 
half  an  hour  he  had  an  audience  of  from  forty  to  fifty,  and  so 
pleased  were  they  that  they  arranged  to  have  him  return  in 
a  few  days  for  another  meeting.  In  Danville  on  November  9, 
a  day  or  so  later,  he  had  an  audience  of  250  and  they  passed  a 
"smashing"  resolution  unanimously.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  Dr.  Rutherford  was  lecturing  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state  again  and  had  gone  as  far  west  as  Galena. 

The  Buel  institute,  which  had  started  the  ball  rolling,  showed 
its  continued  interest  by  passing  resolutions  approving  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  industrial  league  and  endorsing  its  plans.^^ 

^•These  "suggestions"  are  included  in  a  letter  of  Murray  to  Turner, 
October  20,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield,  and  printed  in  the  ap- 
pendix, p.  435. 

*°yates  to  Turner,  April  14,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts. 

"Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  1:182. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  81 

Thus  by  means  of  lectures  throughout  the  state,  by  conven- 
tions, by  the  influence  of  the  state  agricultural  society  and  the 
Buel  institute,  by  the  now  widely  organized  industrial  league,  by 
the  aid  of  articles  in  the  press,  and  by  private  correspondence 
the  friends  of  industrial  education  sought  to  prepare  the  way  for 
a  favorable  consideration  of  their  favorite  measures  by  the  leg- 
islature. 

It  was  with  hope,  therefore,  that  the  directors  of  the  league 
called  a  meeting  of  the  friends  of  industrial  education  to  be  held 
in  Springfield  on  the  first,  second,  and  third  of  January,  1855 
for  the  purpose  of  consummating  a  plan  for  presenting  before 
the  approaching  legislature  the  claims  of  industrial  education 
and  the  plans  for  the  state  university,  the  normal  school,  and  the 
common  schools  advocated  by  the  league.^''' 

The  convention  met,  on  January  1,  1855,  in  the  senate  cham- 
ber in  Springfield  and  appointed  six  men  to  act  as  a  committee 
and  also  as  a  board  of  trustees  to  raise  fifty  thousand  dollars  for 
the  endowment  of  a  state  teachers'  seminary  or  a  normal  school 
for  teachers  and  other  needed  departments  in  a  university  to  be 
styled  "Illinois  university,"  and  to  secure  also  a  donation  of 
lands  from  congress  for  the  same  purpose  as  soon  as  practicable.^^ 

The  committee  of  six  appointed  for  the  purpose  prepared 
a  bill  and  it  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  under  the  title 
"An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Illinois  university."  The 
trustees  were  to  locate  the  university,  and  were  to  receive  from 
the  state  the  college  and  seminary  funds  for  its  endowment  on 
condition  that  they  raised  a  like  amount  from  other  sources. 
They  were  also  to  receive  any  grants  which  congress  might  make 
for  industrial  education.  The  bill  proposed  to  begin  with  three 
departments,  a  teachers'  seminary,  an  agricultural  department, 
and  a  mechanical  department.^^ 

There  was  vigorous  opposition  to  the  bill  both  in  and  with- 
out the  legislature.     The  Jacksonville  Constitutionist,  the  Ma- 

'Ullinois  State  Eegistcr,  December  28,  1854. 

'^''Illinois  State  Journal,  January  2,  1855.  John  Gate  of  Lake  County 
was  made  president,  W.  F.  M.  Arney  of  McLean  county,  secretary;  Turner, 
Murray,  Johns,  Kennicott,  Urial  Mills  and  W.  A.  Pennell  were  appointed  on 
the  committee. 

"See  the  bill  and  the  report  on  it  in  appendix,  p.  546. 


82  Ilislorji  Univcrsifif  of  Illinois 

coupin  Statesnuoi,  and  the  Illinois  State  Register,  and  a  few  other 
papers  had  articles  in  which  thov  termed  the  "industrial  league 
a  glorious  humbug,"  "a  chimera,"  and  a  project  whose  cost 
would  be  enormous.  The  ConstHuiionist  printed  a  number  of  ar- 
ticles in  which  it  opposed  generally  the  fundamentals  of  the  plan 
and  objected  specifically  to  some  fifteen  distinct  details  of  the 
bill  which  was  now  before  the  legislature.^*'  "The  whole  scheme," 
said  this  latter  paper,  "has  the  appearance  to  us  of  a  cunningly 
devised  plan  to  bleed  the  treasury  of  the  state,  and  to  elevate 
into  office  for  life,  a  few  aspiring  individuals,  the  excessive  mod- 
esty of  the  most  of  whom  prevents  them  from  bringing  their 
claims  before  the  people  and  leads  them  to  the  adoption  of  this 
scheme,  and  to  taking  advantage  of  the  popular  feeling  in  favor 
of  education,  to  elevate  themselves  into  a  position  of  the  highest 
importance,  from  which  they  can  look  down  with  contempt  upon 
every  individual  who  refuses  to  bow  the  knee  to  their  Baal."^^ 
The  bill,  although  violently  attacked,  was  favorably  reported 
by  the  senate  committee  and  found  only  one  opponent  on  the 
house  committe.  At  this  time  it  became  known  that  there  were 
defalcations  in  the  state  treasurer's  department  and  the  con- 
vention 's  committee  saw  that  it  would  be  inadvisable  to  press  the 
bill  to  final  action ;  therefore  in  both  houses  the  matter  was  de- 
ferred to  the  next  session.^^ 

The  friends  of  industrial  education  were  disappointed,  of 
course,  at  the  outcome  but  by  no  means  in  despair.  They  con- 
sidered it  a  "  draAvn  battle ' '  this  time  with  all  the  advantages  of 
delay,  on  their  side :  the  idea  was  gaining  ground ;  the  agricul- 
tural press  was  speaking  out  with  more  confidence  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  paper  but  what  was  declaring  in  favor  of  practical  or 
specific  training  along  industrial  lines.'*^ 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1855  Turner  and  his 
friends  devoted  little  of  their  time  to  lecturing;  as  indicated 
above  they  deemed  that  part  of  their  work  had  been  nearly  ac- 


*^Illinois  State  Register,  December  28,  1854,  January  18,  February  1, 
1855;  Jaclcsonville  ConstUuiionist,  January  23,  1855. 
*Hllinois  State  Register,  February  1,  1855. 
*^Prairie  Farmer,  May,  1855. 
"Kennicott  to  Turner,  March  6,   1855,  Turner  manuscripts. 


Activity  Illinois  Indusiriul  League  83 

complishcd.  Turner  gave  more  time  to  his  personal  business 
which  had  suffered  much  during  the  last  two  years  on  account 
of  his  work  for  the  league.  He  was,  in  fact,  spending  much  time 
in  perfecting  and  in  testing  out  a  corn  planter  which  he  had  in- 
vented. During  the  summer  Murray  wrote  occasionally  for  the 
newspapers ;  his  articles  were  generally  concerned  directly  or  in- 
directly with  the  subject  nearest  his  heart,  industrial  education; 
on  one  occasion  however,  he  composed  for  the  Prairie  Farmer 
an  able  defense  of  Turner's  work  in  introducing  the  osage  orange 
as  a  hedge  in  Illinois. 

As  early  as  June  they  began  to  plan  for  events  six  months 
in  advance.  They  were  concerned  as  to  who  would  succeed  Nin- 
ian  W.  Edwards  as  state  superintendent  when  his  term  expired. 
The  name  of  W.  H.  Powell  of  LaSalle  had  been  mentioned  in  that 
connection.  They  proceeded  by  correspondence  to  find  out  how 
Powell  stood  but  with  little  result  apparently  until  a  meeting 
of  the  state  teachers'  institute  the  following  December.  Mean- 
time in  October  the  state  fair  was  held  in  Chicago  at  which  the 
industrial  university  movement  was  discussed  before  nearly  a 
thousand  farmers  and  mechanics.  Among  the  speakers  were 
George  L.  Lumsden  and  C.  B.  Denio  known  as  the  "Mississippi 
brick  layer ; ' '  both  these  men  had  been  friends  of  this  movement 
as  members  of  the  legislature  of  1853  that  had  passed  the  land 
grant  resolution  petitioning  congress  for  a  grant  to  endow  in- 
dustrial universities.  An  exciting  incident  on  the  occasion  of  the 
state  fair  meeting  was  an  interruption  by  a  politician  by  the 
name  of  John  Wentworth.  The  meeting  promptly  silenced  Went- 
worth  and  proceeded  to  pass  resolutions  endorsing  the  objects 
of  the  industrial  league  and  called  upon  the  legislature  to  pre- 
pare a  system  for  the  education  of  farmers  and  mechanics  in  the 
line  of  their  own  pursuits.^^ 

The  state  teachers'  institute  that  closed  its  session  in  Spring- 
field December  29,  1855,  was  an  unusually  important  one.  The 
State  Register  reported  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  most  ear- 
nest and  distinguished  teachers  in  the  state  were  present  and  that 
they  took  hold  of  matters  in  a  way  that  promised  much  for  the 
future. '♦'>    Addresses  were  given  by  N.  W.  Edwards,  state  super- 

**Chicago  Tribune,  October  19,  1855. 

*'Illinois  WeeUy  State  Begisler,  January  3,  1856. 


84  History  University  of  Illinois 

intendent;  Newton  Batcinan,  J.  ]\L  Sturtevaiit,  J.  B.  Turner,  and 
W.  H.  Powell.  Lively  discussions  followed  the  address  of  Tur- 
ner for  naturally  it  turned  toward  his  scheme  for  an  industrial 
university.  The  State  Register,  which  was  decidedly  vigorous  in 
it  opposition  to  Turner  and  his  plan,  said  that  the  discussion  was 
* '  checked  by  a  resolution  introduced  and  very  ably  supported  by 
J.  M,  Sturtevant,  Jr.,  that  the  institute  did  not  wish  to  discuss 
any  university  but  to  confine  itself  to  topics  connected  with  com- 
mon and  normal  schools.  "^*^ 

It  is  apparent  from  this  that  the  university  men  were  meet- 
ing with  some  rather  stiff  opposition.  In  fact  there  were  three 
distinct  parties  represented  at  this  meeting :  a  group  of  those  who 
desired  immediately  a  normal  school  that  should  be  independent 
for  the  present  of  any  existing  institution ;  a  small  party  of  col- 
lege men  who  were  anxious  to  have  any  department  of  an 
educational  nature  attached  to  existing  colleges ;  the  friends  of 
industrial  education  with  Turner  at  their  head,  who  desired  a 
normal  department  but  would  have  it  connected  with  the  pro- 
posed industrial  university.  The  second  and  the  third  groups 
had  been  fighting  each  other  bitterly  for  several  years  and  the 
struggle  was  destined  to  continue  for  many  years  more.  Between 
the  normal  school  men  and  the  industrial  university  party  there 
was  lacking  any  intense  feeling  of  opposition.  For  this  reason 
it  was  easy  for  them  about  a  year  later  to  agree  upon  a  plan  that 
was  satisfactory  to  both. 

In  a  letter  of  January  2,  1856,  addressed  to  Bronson  Mur- 
ray, Turner  announced  himself  well  satisfied  with  the  meeting 
at  Springfield  and  expressed  the  belief  that  on  the  whole  their 
cause  stood  better  with  the  teachers,  for  the  latter  now  saw  more 
clearly  that  the  university  men  were  seeking  neither  to  antag- 
onize them  nor  to  master  them.  A  few  lines  from  Turner's  let- 
ter reveal  something  of  what  had  been  transpiring  beneath  the 
surface:  "I  can  hardly  express  to  you  the  joy  and  relief  I 
feel  in  having  that  ugly  point  of  the  superintendency  so  well  got 
by  with,  without  my  name  in  any  way  pushed  into  the  contest. 

*''Ibid.  President  Sturtevant  was  in  accord  with  Turner,  J.  M.  Sturte- 
vant, Jr.,  was  at  that  time  very  young  and  was  drawn  into  an  action  which 
he  afterward  regretted.     Letter  to  writer  from  J.  M.  Sturtevant,  Jr.,  1917. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  85 

I  fully  made  up  my  mind  that  it  should  not  and  could  not  he, 
before  I  went  to  Springfield,  but  I  did  not  see  how  to  manage  it, 
till  Bateman  consented  to  let  his  name  stand  for  a  time  then  my 
way  was  clear  and  I  knew  what  to  do  at  once. 

* '  Still  I  had  no  idea  of  voting  for  Powell  or  least  of  all  nom- 
inating him  myself  till  I  heard  his  address  then  I  made  up  my 
mind,  (as  I  told  you  as  soon  as  he  was  through)  that  I  should 
go  for  him  next,  after  Bateman."^' 

Turner  did  not  think  at  that  time  that  Bateman  would  ac- 
cept the  office  and  as  Powell  was  his  second  choice  he  considered 
it  wise  to  nominate  him  in  order  to  gain  for  himself  the  support 
of  Powell's  friends.  The  violent  opposition  of  the  State  Register 
and  some  other  papers  he  attributed  to  a  Mr.  Leach  who  aspired 
to  the  superintendeney  and  who  believed  that  Turner  was  seek- 
ing the  same  office.  Powell  appreciated  Turner's  action;  a  cor- 
respondent requested  him  ''to  plant  himself  square  and  fair  on  an 
anti  Professor  Turner  platform ' '  and  assured  him  of  certain  de- 
feat unless  he  did  so ;  he  replied  that  if  he  were  forced  to  make 
a  choice  between  the  state  superintendeney  of  Illinois  and  the  re- 
tention of  his  esteem  for  Turner,  he  would  unequivocally  choose 
the  latter.^^  Thus  the  public  and  normal  school  men  and  friends 
of  industrial  education  were  coming  to  a  better  understanding 
of  each  other,  and  the  way  was  being  paved  for  the  next  im- 
portant step  which  occurred  at  the  state  teachers'  association  in 
Chicago,  December,  1856. 

Preparations  for  this  meeting  were  carefully  made  and  the 
establishment  of  a  normal  school  was  set  down  as  the  leading 
topic.  Resolutions  were  introduced  to  the  effect  that  a  state  nor- 
mal school  be  established  at  once,  and  that  the  next  legislature 
appropriate  a  sufficient  sum  to  support  it  for  the  next  five  years. 
During  the  discussion  on  this  resolution  Bateman  read  a  letter 
from  Turner  which  after  stating  what  the  friends  of  the  indus- 
trial league  had  hoped  in  this  connection,  concludes:  "It  is  high 

^'Turner  to  Murray,  January  2,  1855,  Murray  manuscripts.  It  is  evident 
that  the  writer  intended  the  date  to  be  1856  for  the  letter  refers  to  the 
Springfield  convention  which  met  in  December,  1855. 

*'Powell  to  Murray,  February  12,  1856,  Turner  manuscripts.  Mr.  Powell 
admitted  soon  after  that  it  was  the  president  of  one  of  the  old  colleges  who 
had  proposed  the  ' '  anti-Turner  ' '  platform. 


86  History  University  of  Illinois 

time,  my  friends,  that  you  had  your  Normal  School,  whether  we 
ever  get  an  agricultural  department  to  it  or  not.  Let  us  take 
hold  together  and  obtain  it,  in  sueh  form  as  you  may,  on  the 
whole,  think  best."^» 

Turner's  letter  secured  for  the  normal  school  measure  the 
cooperation  of  his  friends,  without  which,  normal  school  men 
have  admitted,  their  success  would  have  been  impossible.  It  was 
generous,  too,  for  the  college  fund  which  the  university  men 
might  with  justice  have  insisted  should  be  left  until  they  secured 
a  charter  for  their  university,  was  given  over  to  the  normal 
school ;  this  at  a  time  when  it  w^as  by  no  means  certain  that  an 
endowment  could  be  secured  from  congress  for  the  industrial 
university. 

It  should  not  be  understood  from  what  has  just  preceded 
that  Turner  was  giving  up  all  this  without  any  well  defined 
scheme  of  carrying  through  the  industrial  university  plan.  In 
fact  it  was  his  plan  to  help  establish  the  state  normal  school  and 
later  to  add  to  it  the  industrial  university.  This  view  is  sup- 
ported by  a  letter  of  Simeon  Francis,  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  state  agricultural  society,  to  W.  A.  Pennell  written  only  a 
few  weeks  after  Turner 's  letter  to  the  state  teachers '  association. 
Francis  wrote :  "I  saw  Mr.  Turner  a  fortnight  since.  I  under- 
stood him,  now,  to  be  in  favor  of  a  State  Normal  School,  and 
when  that  was  established  to  perfect  it  connecting  with  it  our 
State  Industrial  University  project.  "^*^ 

Immediately  following  the  state  teachers'  association  meet- 
ing in  Chicago,  the  normal  school  men  and  university  men  did 
take  hold  together  as  Turner  advised  and  because  now  they  could 
present  a  united  front  to  the  state  legislature  they  obtained  in 
short  time  the  passage  of  an  act  establishing  the  ''Illinois  state 
normal  university. ' '  This  act  which  was  approved  February  18, 
1857,  gave  the  interest  from  the  seminary  and  college  funds  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  newly  created  institution.^^  Further 
than  this  the  state  made  no  appropriation  for  the  new  institu- 

*°For  entire  letter  see  Illinois  School  Report,  1886-1888,  p.  xc. 
""Francis  to  Pennell,  January  26,  1857,  Pennell  manuscripts. 
■"For  the  history  of  the  bill  see  Illinois  School  Reports,   1885-1886; 
1887-1888,  Ixxvii,  elxxxiv. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  87 

tion  but  left  it  to  depend  upon  the  charity  of  its  friends  and  the 
generosity  of  the  community  in  which  it  should  be  located  for 
its  site  and  for  its  buildings. 

Because  of  this  act  of  the  legislature  the  next  meeting  of  the 
state  teachers'  association  held  in  Decatur  early  in  January  of 
1858  was  an  occasion  of  rejoicing.  Bronson  Murray  who  at- 
tended this  gathering  spoke  of  it  as  "a  glorious  triumph  for  the 
friends  of  the  Industrial  League."  The  reasons  for  this  note  of 
exultation  seems  to  be  in  these  significant  statements :  ' '  We  have 
concluded  to  rally  around  and  support  the  Normal  University 
and  it  is  now  understood  and  agreed  on  all  sides  that  that  insti- 
tution is  to  be  developed  into  a  University  and  its  nature  shall  be 
Normal  which  will  insure  its  being  Industrial  in  its  character.  "^- 

This  statement  supports  the  one  quoted  above  as  to  the  in- 
tentions of  both  the  normal  and  university  men  to  develop  the 
normal  into  an  industrial  university.  It  appears  that  J.  S.  Post, 
the  member  who  moved  and  carried  through  the  university  bill, 
deliberately  condensed  it,  changed  the  title  of  the  institution 
from  Illinois  universitj^  to  normal  university,  and  then  pushed 
the  bill  through  both  houses.  "The  opponents  of  Turner,"  Mur- 
ray wrote,  ' '  voted  for  it  to  prevent  the  Industrial  men  from  get- 
ting the  fund  and  the  friends  of  Turner  voted  for  it  because  they 
were  let  behind  the  scenes.  So  all  is  well.  "^^  Thus  it  would 
seem  that  for  the  moment  all  parties  were  pleased  with  the  out- 
come, whether  they  saw^  the  situation  as  it  really  existed  or  not. 

The  Illinois  industrial  league  had  frequently  failed  to  secure 
measures  that  it  had  striven  hard  to  obtain ;  but  by  January, 
1858,  the  industrial  league  had  really  accomplished  the  great 
work  for  which  it  had  been  organized,  for  on  December  14,  1857, 
a  bill  had  been  introduced  into  congress  which  was  ultimately  to 
give  to  each  of  the  states  a  land  grant  to  endow  an  industrial 
university.  Without  the  preliminary  educational  work  done  by 
the  league  the  passage  of  the  land  grant  act  would  have  been  im- 
possible or  at  any  rate  many  years  delayed. 

"Murray  to  Peniiell,  January  12,  1858,  Pennell  mauuscripts.  A  note 
of  triumph  in  Murray's  letter  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  already 
learned  of  the  introduction  of  the  Morrill  bill  into  Congress,  December 
14,  1857. 

'Ubid. 


88  History  Vnivcrsiiy  of  Illinois 

Attention  has  been  directed  already  to  the  wide  publication 
of  Turner's  plan  in  1852,  to  the  extended  notice  given  the  joint 
resolutions  of  the  Illinois  legislature  of  February  8,  1853,  to  the 
wide  distribution  of  the  circulars  of  the  industrial  league,  and 
to  the  numerous  requests  from  individuals  and  organizations  in 
other  states  to  Turner,  Murray,  and  Kennicott  for  information 
and  advice  in  regard  to  the  establishment  of  a  university  or  agri- 
cultural college  in  their  own  state  or  territory. 

During  the  years  from  1854  to  1858  these  points  of  contact 
with  individuals  and  organizations  increased.  On  at  least  three 
different  occasions  during  these  years  Turner  gave  addresses  out- 
side of  Illinois:  he  spoke  in  St.  Louis  in  the  middle  of  March, 
1854;  he  prepared  an  address  for  President  Gary  of  College 
Hill,  Ohio,  to  be  published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  northwest 
industrial  convention  of  October,  1854 ;  he  delivered  an  address 
before  the  association  for  the  advance  of  education  at  Detroit, 
Michigan,  in  August,  1856,  on  invitation  of  his  friend  President 
Henry  P.  Tappan  of  the  University  of  Michigan  and  president 
of  the  association ;  on  all  these  occasions  he  spoke  on  his  favorite 
topic  of  industrial  education.  Mr.  Murray  went  to  Ohio  to  at- 
tend the  north  west  industrial  convention  in  1854  and  as  noted 
above  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings. 

Even  thus  early  Turner  and  Murray  were  planning  with 
President  Gary,  and  with  President  Tappan  to  have  influence 
brought  upon  congress  to  get  through  their  proposed  legislation 
for  granting  lands  to  endow  industrial  universities  when  the 
proper  time  should  arrive  to  introduce  the  bill.  President  Gary 
wrote  Turner  that  Judge  McLain  of  the  supreme  court,  who  was 
to  preside  at  the  north  west  industrial  convention,  had  offered  to 
use  his  influence  to  persuade  congress  to  grant  lands  for  indus- 
trial universities,  and  he  would  be  a  valuable  aid  to  them  for  he 
would  be  in  Washington.""'^  In  this  same  letter  Gary  thanked 
Turner  that  the  industrial  league  had  elected  him  an  honorary 
member.  "It  is  an  honor  I  highly  appreciate,"  said  Gary,  "for 
from  the  first  I  entertained  the  most  favorable  ideas  of  its  utility, 
and  the  more  I  have  seen  and  reflected  upon  the  plans  and  ob- 


^Cary  to  Turner,  June  20,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts. 


Activity  Illinois  Industrial  League  89 

jeets  of  the  League  the  more  thoroughly  I  am  convinced  of  its 
importance  not  only  to  your  state  but  the  Great  West. ' ' 

At  this  same  time  Turner  was  corresponding  also  with  Presi- 
dent Henry  P.  Tappan  of  the  University  of  Michigan.  In  a  reply 
Tappan  agreed  to  enter  into  a  league  to  secure  federal  support 
for  universities :  "I  have  not  replied  to  your  favor  before  be- 
cause I  wished  to  lay  the  documents  you  sent  me  before  our 
Board  of  Regents  who  met  here  a  few  days  since.  Unfortunately, 
owing  to  the  sickness  of  one  and  the  absence  of  two  others  we 
had  no  quorum,  and  so  I  was  compelled  to  delay  until  another 
meeting  which  will  take  place  within  a  month.  I  am  fully  of 
your  opinion,  that  Congress  ought  to  give  liberally  to  the  educa- 
tional institutions  of  our  country  and  I  am  willing  to  enter  into 
a  league  to  bring  this  about. ' ' 

After  criticising  Turner's  plan  in  a  friendly  way  he  added, 
"let  me  know  of  the  happenings  of  your  league  and  how  and 
when  you  propose  to  bring  the  matter  before  Congress.  "^^  This 
is  definite  information  that  Turner  was  organizing  influence  in 
other  states  to  bear  upon  congress  to  get  it  to  grant  lands  for 
industrial  universities. 

Requests  have  been  previously  noted  from  men  occupying 
official  positions,  from  Oregon  and  Iowa  asking  information  and 
aid  in  establishing  agricultural  colleges  or  universities  in  their 
states.  Similar  letters  were  received  by  Turner  from  other 
sources.  Early  in  1855  E.  C.  Bidwell  of  Iowa,  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  University  of  Iowa,  asked  him  to  send  the 
report  of  the  league  to  members  of  the  board  in  the  hope  of  in- 
fluencing them  to  the  establishment  of  a  "People's  Institu- 
tion. "5« 

From  a  citizen  of  Oregon,  Mr.  Ahio  "Watt — a  request  of  Rep- 
resentative Henry  of  the  year  1854  has  been  mentioned — there 
came  a  request  in  June,  1856,  for  information  in  regard  to  the 
work  in  Illinois.  Turner  sent  the  desired  information  and 
Watt,  who  was  university  land  commissioner  of  Oregon  territory, 
applied  on  December  18,  1856,  sending  a  copy  of  joint  resolu- 
tions introduced  into  the  Oregon  assembly  by  Hr.  Bayley  of 

''^^Tappan  to  Turner,  April  6,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 
"Bidwell  to  Turner,  February  16,  April  13,  1855,  Turner  manuscripts. 


90  History  University  of  Illinois 

Yamhill  asking  that  additional  lands  be  appropriated,  "in  the 
establishment  and  endowment  of  an  industrial  university  to  be 
known  as  the  'Industrial  University  of  Oregon'  which  shall  have 
for  its  object,  etc.,  etc."  In  his  letter  Watt  said:  "You  can  see 
what  has  been  borrowed.  "^^ 

Early  in  1857  word  came  from  G.  L.  Lumsden  who  had  been 
an  enthusiastic  aid  to  the  industrial  cause  as  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  Illinois,  that  he  was  busy  in  Minnesota  working  for 
the  same  cause.  He  wrote  that  their  aim  was  to  have  Fort  Snell- 
ing  appropriated  for  the  use  and  purpose  of  an  industrial  uni- 
versity and  that  he,  himself,  had  prepared  resolutions  and  a 
memorial  to  congress  on  the  subject.  Among  the  things  asked 
for  in  these  petitions  was  "an  industrial  university  in  each  state 
of  the  Union,  "ss 

John  Kennicott  and  Bronson  Murray  were  constantly  cor- 
responding with  individuals  and  with  agricultural  and  horti- 
cultural societies  of  the  country  during  this  same  period.  Ken- 
nicott was  in  touch,  too,  with  the  United  States  agricultural  so- 
ciety that  held  a  number  of  annual  meetings  and  fairs  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  during  the  same  year.  The  leaders  of  the  indus- 
trial league  were  also  keeping  their  public  men  informed  of  what 
they  were  trying  to  do  as  the  following  letter  from  a  United 
States  senator  will  indicate. 

,,     ,        ^.  "Chicago,  October  12,  1857. 

My  dear  Sir : — 

Accept  my  thanks  for  your  kind  note  enclosing  the  pamphlet 
on  Industrial  Universities,  which  I  will  take  pleasure  in  review- 
ing with  the  view  of  forming  a  favorable  judgment  on  the  pro- 
posed movement.  I  shall  be  happy  to  receive  your  work  on  The 
Races  when  complete. 

Very  Respectfully 

Your  Obedient  Servant 

r>     4?  T    r>    rr  ^-  ■^'  Douglas. 

Professor  J.  B.  Turner 

Jacksonville ' ' 


"Watt  to  Turner,  June  1,  1856,  December  18,  1856,  Tur?'ier  manuscripts. 

^"Lumsden  to  Turner,  February  2,  1857,  Turner  manuscripts.  The 
memorial  to  congress  referred  to  above  was  introduced  in  Minnesota  house 
of  representatives,  February  16,  1857,  by  Delano  T.  Smith.  Printed  copy 
corrected  by  George  L.  Lumsden,  the  author,  at  University  of  Illinois. 


Activitij  Illinois  Industrial  League  91 

From  the  evidence  produced  it  seems  very  clear  that  the  Illi- 
nois industrial  league  backed  as  it  was  by  a  devoted  group  of 
vigorous  men  had  prepared  the  way  not  only  in  Illinois  but  in 
many  states  of  the  union  for  an  effective  support  of  the  land 
grant  proposition  for  industrial  universities  when  it  should  be 
brought  before  congress  in  the  form  of  a  bill.  It  is  known  now 
that  for  several  years  before  the  introduction  of  the  land  grant 
bill  in  congress  legislatures,  state  ofiicers,  congressmen,  state 
and  county  agricultural  societies,  presidents  of  universities  and 
colleges,  members  of  boards  of  trustees  of  educational  institu- 
tions, and  prominent  private  citizens,  in  states  as  far  west  as 
Oregon  and  as  far  east  as  New  York,  had  been  well  informed  con- 
cerning this  project  and  their  cooperation  had  been  secured  by 
this  same  group  of  Illinois  men. 

One  need  not  be  surprised,  then,  that  when  the  bill  was  actu- 
ally introduced  into  congress  by  a  man  who  had  not  been  iden- 
tified with  this  nation  wide  movement  up  to  this  time,  a  flood  of 
petitions  in  support  of  it  came  in  from  all  these  various  bodies 
and  organizations,  from  California,  Minnesota,  Michigan,  Ohio, 
New  York,  Illinois,  and  other  states. 


92  History  Universihj  of  Illinois 

CHAPTER  IV 
THE  ILLINOIS  PLAN  BEFORE  CONGRESS 

In  April,  ISSi,  immediately  following  the  presentation  of 
the  joint  resolution  of  the  Illinois  legislature,  the  first  step  in 
presenting  the  land  grant  proposition  of  the  Illinois  men  before 
congress  in  the  form  of  a  bill  was  taken.  Representative  Rich- 
ard Yates  of  Illinois  wrote  to  J,  B.  Turner  asking  him  to  draw 
up  a  bill  and  send  it  to  him,  saying  that  Mr.  Washburne  had 
merely  presented  the  resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  industrial 
universities  and  that  he  had  introduced  no  bill.  Yates  suggested 
that  it  might  be  well  to  omit  all  reference  to  any  connection 
between  these  institutions  and  the  Smithsonian  institution  in 
order  to  avoid  opposition  from  certain  quarters  but  left  the  final 
decision  upon  that  point  to  Turner.  In  conclusion  he  promised 
to  present  the  bill  and  do  what  he  could  to  get  it  passed.^  Turner 
prepared  the  bill  and  forwarded  it  to  Washington  but  nothing 
further  was  accomplished  as  it  was  found  inadvisable  to  push  the 
matter  in  that  session  and  the  following  fall  Yates  was  not 
reelected  to  congress. 

The  following  two  or  three  years  did  not  seem  a  favorable 
time  to  introduce  such  a  bill  because  of  the  attitude  of  oppo- 
sition to  land  grants  observable  in  the  chief  executive.  President 
Pierce  had  vetoed  in  1854  a  bill  carrying  a  grant  of  lands  in 
support  of  the  indigent  insane  and  this  had  left  t'mall  hope  of  his 
signing  one  for  educational  interests. 

Turner  was  on  guard,  however,  watching  for  the  favorable 
moment;  early  in  October,  1857  he  believed  the  time  was  pro- 
pitious for  another  attempt.  That  he  consulted  two  of  the  great 
leaders  in  congress^ — both  senators  from  his  own  state — upon  the 
subject  is  shown  by  a  letter  to  Lyman  Trumbull:  "I  now  send 
herewith  a  copy  of  our  league  report — and  would  be  glad  to  know 
if  in  your  opinion  a  grant  of  lands  to  the  states  could  now  be 
obtained — I  know  of  no  measure  that  would  be  so  universally 


'Yates  to  Turner,  April  14,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts. 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  93 

popular  with  our  farmers  and  working  people,  or  do  so  much 
good  if  judiciously  managed. 

''In  conversation  with  Senator  Douglas  on  the  cars  the  other 
day  he  expressed  his  opinion  that  such  a  grant  could  be  obtained 
at  the  next  session  (See  p.  43  Report)  and  I  thought  I  would  just 
enquire  of  you  what  could  be  done."^ 

Twelve  days  later  Senator  Trumbull  replied  approving  the 
land  grant  plan,  pointing  out  the  dangers  that  stood  in  the  way 
of  its  success,  and  finally  making  a  suggestion  that  was  a  deter- 
mining factor  in  deciding  who  should  introduce  the  desired  bill 
in  congress.  ' '  Since  the  receipt  of  your  letter  I  have  re-read  the 
pamphlet  in  regard  to  industrial  universities.  The  idea  is  a 
grand  one,  if  it  could  be  carried  out  and  made  practical.  I  thought 
I  saw  in  the  last  congress  an  opposition  springing  up  against  any 
further  grants  of  land  in  the  States,  but  perhaps  it  was  confined 
to  those  made  to  new  States,  and  your  project  contemplating  a 
grant  to  all  the  States  might  meet  with  more  favor.  Several  large 
grants  were  made  last  year,  but  it  was  done  grudgingly.  For  my 
own  part  I  have  been  favorable  to  an  early  disposition  of  the 
public  lands  by  the  general  government,  and  if  they  could  only 
be  secured  to  actual  settlers,  I  would  be  glad  to  see  it  divested 
at  once  of  this  great  source  of  patronage  and  corruption.  If  some 
of  the  old  States  would  take  hold  of  the  matter,  I  think  it  not 
unlikely  that  a  grant  of  lands  might  be  obtained  from  Congress ; 
but  coming  from  the  new  States,  which  have  already  obtained 
such  large  grants  for  schools  and  other  purposes,  it  would  be 
likely  to  meet  with  less  favor. 

"Objections  to  the  feasibility  of  the  plan  will,  of  course, 
be  urged ;  but  no  one  can  doubt  that  something,  if  not  all  that 
is  expected,  could  be  accomplished  by  institutions  of  the  character 
proposed. 

' '  For  the  diploma  you  inclosed  making  me  a  member  of  the 
Industrial  League,  I  desire  to  express  my  thanks.  "^ 

Trumbull 's  arguments  made  it  clear  that  the  bill  would  have 
a  better  chance  for  success  if  it  had  the  support  of  some  of  the 

^'Turner  to  Trumbull,  October  7,  1857,  Trumbull  collection,  library  of 
'•ongress. 

'Trumbull  to  Turner,  October  19,  1857,  Turner  manuscripts. 


94  History  Universitij  of  Illinois 

older  states.  With  this  in  view  Turner  and  his  associates  selected 
Representative  Justin  S.  Morrill  of  Vermont-*  as  the  man  to 
introduce  the  bill  and  to  carry  through  this  great  and  important 
measure.  Immediately  after  this  choice  was  made  Turner  for- 
warded to  Morrill  all  his  papers  and  documents  and  from  that 
time  forward  gave  him  all  the  help  and  encouragement  that  he 
could.5  More  than  this  Turner  even  succeeded  in  determining 
the  language  of  the  bill  which  was  introduced  into  congress  on 
December  14,  1857,  by  Representative  Morrill  and  which  was 
finally  enacted  into  law  on  July  2,  1862.  President  Edmund  J. 
James  of  the  University  of  Illinois  has  shown  very  clearly  that  it 
could  not  have  been  a  "mere  coincidence  that  the  language  of 
the  act  of  1862  'to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education 
of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions 
in  life'  should  tally  so  closely  with  the  language  used  in  the 
various  documents  put  forth  by  Professor  Turner. '  '*»  He  names 
three  documents  in  which  Turner  used  language  almost  identical 
with  that  quoted  above  from  the  act  of  1862.  Particularly  was 
this  true  of  a  petition  to  congress  in  which  Turner  used  these 
words  ''an  industrial  university  for  the  liberal  education  of  the 
industrial  classes  in  their  several  pursuits  and  professions  in 
life." 

There  is  still  another  clause  in  the  same  paragraph  of  the 
bill  that  is  clearly  marked  by  Turner's  influence.  It  is  the 
parenthetical  one  that  says  "without  excluding  other  scientific 
or  classical  studies. ' '  In  Turner 's  plan,  published  in  the  league 
pamphlet  which  had  been  placed  no  doubt  in  Morrill's  hand,  it 
was  stated  "no  species  of  knowledge  should  be  excluded"  and 
whether  a  distinct  classical  department  should  be  added  would 
depend  on  expediency.  Friends  of  Turner,  among  them  Dr. 
Kennicott,  wished  to  exclude  the  classics  entirely  but  Turner 
v/ould  not  yield  the  point. 

In  confirmation  of  this  direct  connection  between  Turner 
and  Morrill  there  is  the  testimony  of  two  competent  persons  yet 

^Whether  the  arrangement  to  get  Justin  S.  Morrill  to  introduce  the 
bill  was  made  by  letter  or  by  some  of  the  Illinois  representatives  in  per- 
son is  not  as  yet  known. 

"Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:38. 

"James,  Origin  of  Land  Grant  Act  of  1862,  p.  26-27. 


Illinois  Flan  Before  Congress  95 

living.  Mrs.  Mary  Carriel,  daughter  of  J.  B.  Turner,  a  woman 
of  affairs  in  the  state  long  before  her  father's  death,  has  pub- 
lished the  statement  that  the  Illinois  men  shortly  after  Senator 
Trumbull's  letter  of  October  19,  1857,  decided  to  send  all  docu- 
ments, papers,  and  pamphlets  to  Mr.  Morrill  with  the  request  that 
he  introduce  the  bill."^  The  other  witness  to  this  fact  is  a  gentle- 
man in  no  way  related  to  the  Turner  family.  Rev.  Mr.  J.  R. 
Reasoner  of  Urbana,  a  man  of  high  reputation  and  wide  acquain- 
tance, a  scientist  of  no  mean  ability  in  the  field  of  plant  breed- 
ing, stated  to  the  writer  that  at  one  time  he  had  a  long  conversa- 
tion on  the  subject  of  the  land  grant  act  wdth  Jonathan  Turner, 
who  told  him  that  he  had  taken  the  matter  of  having  the  bill 
introduced  in  congress  to  Mr.  Morrill. 

Justin  S.  Morrill  entered  congress  on  December  4,  1855,  four 
years  after  the  launching  of  the  movement  in  Illinois  for  a  land 
grant  for  industrial  universities  in  each  of  the  states,  and  a  year 
and  one-half  after  the  proposition  had  been  presented  to  congress 
by  the  legislature  of  Illinois.  And  it  was  still  another  year  before 
the  idea  of  such  a  grant  of  land  came  to  his  attention,  although 
on  February  28,  1856,  three  months  after  he  entered  congress, 
Mr.  Morrill  had  introduced  a  resolution  in  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives that  "the  conunittee  on  agriculture  be  requested  to 
enquire  into  the  expediency  of  establishing  one  or  more  national 
agricultural  schools  upon  the  basis  of  the  naval  and  military 
schools,  in  order  that  one  scholar  from  each  state  at  large  may 
receive  a  scientific  and  practical  education  at  the  public  ex- 
pense. '  *8 

In  a  memorandum  by  Representative  Morrill  himself,  fur- 
nished by  his  son,  it  is  stated  that  the  idea  of  obtaining  a  grant 
of  land  for  the  foundation  of  colleges  came  to  him  as  early  as 
1856.  It  was  apparently  later  than  the  resolution  mentioned 
above,  which  presents  a  very  different  idea.  He  says  also  in  the 
memorandum,  "Where  I  obtained  the  first  hint  of  such  a  mea- 
sure I  am  wholly  unable  to  say. '  "^ 

'Carriel,  Life  of  Turner,  159. 

^Congressional  Glohe,  S4  congress,  1  session,  530. 

'Manuscripfc  ot  University  of  Illinois.     See  appendix,  p.  525. 


96  History  University  of  Illinois 

It  seems  somewhat  strange  that  a  i)ublie  man  interested  in 
agriculture  should  not  have  known  of  a  movement  which  had 
been  discussed  for  five  years  in  the  agricultural  press  of  the 
country  and  in  the  leading  newspapers  east  and  west,  as  well  as  in 
county,  state,  and  national  agricultural  societies,  and  which  had 
been  presented  to  legislatures  and  to  congress.  Nevertheless  it 
appears  from  Mr.  Morrill's  own  statement  and  from  the  fact 
that  his  name  is  not  mentioned  in  connection  with  this  movement 
before  December,  1857,  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  its  origin 
and  took  no  part  in  the  educational  work  carried  on  for  years 
in  its  interest  without  which  the  passage  of  the  bill  would  have 
been  impossible.  The  framing  of  the  bill,  while  a  matter  of 
importance,  was  a  secondary  consideration;  it  might  have  been 
framed  by  a  lawyer,  or  in  these  days  by  a  typist. 

These  conclusions  have  been  reached  despite  the  contrary 
opinions  of  certain  men  among  them  the  late  "William  H.  Brewer, 
professor  in  the  Sheffield  scientific  school,  who  expressed  his 
conviction  regarding  the  origin  of  the  land  grant  of  1862  in  a 
letter  written  in  1908:  *'I  have  no  doubt  whatever,"  he  said, 
' '  that  it  originated  with  Mr.  Morrill  in  1857  with  his  first  bill  of 
that  year,  which  was  passed  but  was  vetoed  by  President 
Buchanan. ' ' 

Mr.  Brewer  based  his  conclusions  chiefly  on  an  interview 
of  1864  with  Representative  Morrill  in  which  the  latter  said  that 
he  had  introduced  the  bill  on  two  considerations:  first,  on  ac- 
count of  the  loud  demand  for  more  scientific  instruction;  and 
second,  because  there  was  so  much  of  the  public  lands  still 
available.  There  was  nothing  in  the  interview  in  the  light  of  the 
record  that  has  been  traced  to  justify  Mr,  Brewer's  conclusion. 
He  was  simply  led  to  a  mistaken  conclusion  because  he  did  not 
have  all  the  facts  before  him. 

In  1894  Morrill  stated  that  he  did  not  know  or  remember 
Turner  though  he  did  remember  that  a  large  number  of  "pro- 
fessors" came  to  see  him  when  his  bills  were  before  congress 
and  possibly  Turner  may  have  been  one  of  them.  Turner,  how- 
ever, was  not  among  the  visitors  to  Morrill  for  he  did  not  go  to 
Washington  until  after  the  land  grant  bill  had  been  enacted  into 
law.    On  the  other  hand  it  is  known  that  Morrill  corresponded 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  97 

with  Turner  for  the  following  letter  in  Turner's  correspondence 
shows  that  Morrill  during  the  time  his  bills  were  before  congress 
knew  of  Turner  and  of  his  work: 

"House  of  Representatives 

Washington,  D.  C. 
December  30,  1861 
Dear  Sir : 

I  am  delighted  to  find  your  fire,  by  the  letter  of  the  15th 
inst.  had  not  all  burned  out.  I  presume  I  recognize  Prof.  Turner, 
an  old  pioneer  in  the  cause  of  agricultural  education. 

I  have  only  to  say  that  amid  the  fire  and  smoke  and  embers, 
I  have  faith  that  I  shall  get  my  bill  into  law  at  this  session, 
I  thank  you  for  your  continued  interest,  and  am 

Very  sincerely  yours 

Justin  S.  Morrill. 

J.  B.  Turner,  Esq., 

Jacksonville,  111." 

To  explain  the  above  situation  one  need  not  believe  Mr. 
Morrill  insincere  but  it  must  be  concluded  that  his  memory,  after 
the  lapse  of  many  years,  was  unreliable.  Amid  the  "fire  and 
smoke  and  embers"  of  civil  war,  of  reconstruction,  and  other 
exciting  and  distressing  events  his  mind  had  lost  beyond  recall  the 
circumstances  or  even  the  leading  individuals  connected  with  a 
movement  -with  which  he  had,  in  fact,  but  little  to  do  outside 
the  halls  of  congress. 

The  land  grant  bill  was  introduced  in  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives on  December  14,  1857,  by  Justin  S.  Morrill  of  Ver- 
mont and  after  some  discussion  referred,  on  December  16,  to  the 
committee  on  public  lands.i*^  It  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
committee  for  several  months. 

Meantime  the  news  of  this  bill  in  the  interests  of  the  in- 
dustrial classes  wxnt  out  across  the  entire  country.  Senator 
Lyman  Trumbull  immediately  sent  a  copy  of  the  bill  to  Turner 
which  the  latter  acknowledged  as  follows:  "I  thank  you  much 

^"Congressional  Globe,  35  congress,  1  session,  32,  36-37. 


98  Ilisturii  University  of  Illinois 

for  copy  of  the  Industrial  University  appropriation  bill.  I  like 
its  main  features  but  hope  it  may  receive  some  amendment. 

"I  send  by  this  mail  another  copy  of  our  reports  thinking 
you  may  not  have  one  at  hand  and  may  desire  to  refer  to  the 
action  of  our  state.  N.  York,  Ohio,  Michigan,  California,  and 
Wisconsin  I  learn  are  prepared  to  petition  with  us.  "^^ 

From  the  above  it  becomes  apparent  that  Turner  had  not 
actually  worded  the  bill  however  much  of  the  material  he  may 
have  furnished.  Another  significant  fact  is  that  he  was  already 
informed  of  what  leading  states  from  California  to  New  York 
were  going  to  do,  and  the  phrase  "are  prepared  to  petition  with 
us"  indicates  previous  understanding  with  Illinois. 

The  preparation  that  Turner  and  the  industrial  league  had 
been  making  for  years  became  now  suddenly  tremendously 
effective.  For  all  over  the  country  from  individuals,  from  county 
and  state  agricultural  and  horticultural  societies,  from  county 
courts,  from  boards  of  supervisors,  from  clubs  and  other  organi- 
zations, and  from  state  legislatures,  petitions  and  memorials  came 
in  great  numbers  to  congress.  It  is  true  the  subject  had  been 
discussed  for  years  in  the  various  states  but  no  concerted  action 
within  three  weeks  time  could  possibly  have  occurred  without 
some  such  preliminary  work  as  the  Illinois  m.en  had  already 
accomplished.  This  situation  is  explained  by  a  letter  from  John 
A.  Kennicott  to  Senator  Trumbull  asking  him  to  advocate  the 
land  grant  bill  just  introduced:  "I  suppose  you  know  this  is 
'Illinois  thunder,'  and  you  have  a  right  to  it.  The  principle 
has  been  endorsed  by  our  legislature — pressed  on  by  our  state 
society — and  adopted  by  nearly  all  our  associations — east  and 
west — and  has  many  friends  in  the  Slave  States  even.  "12 

On  January  8,  1858,  Turner  wrote  Bronson  Murray  that 
President  J.  R.  Williams  of  the  Michigan  state  agricultural  col- 
lege had  gone  to  Washington,  D.  C.  to  look  after  the  interests 
of  the  Morrill  bill.  He  urged  Murray  to  set  petitions  in  motion 
in  the  agricultural  and  other  societies  in  his  part  of  the  state. 

"Turner  to  Trumbull,  January  4,  1858,  Trumbull  collection,  library  of 
congress. 

^-Kennicott  to  Trumbull,  January  25,  1858,  Trumbull  collection,  library 
of  congress;    see  also  appendix,  p.  438. 


Illinois  Plan  Before,  Congress  99 

He  added  that  President  Gary  of  Farmers  college,  Ohio,  had 
written  him  that  petitions  were  being  sent  from  Michigan  and 
from  New  York  and  would  soon  be  sent  out  from  Ohio.  Turner 
thought  that  if  they  exerted  themselves  they  might  get  the  appro- 
priation that  session.     He  concludes : 

"If  this  appropriation  is  secured  in  the  form  proposed  the 
poor  despised  Illinois  League  will  have  done  more  for  the  true 
cause  of  American  Education  on  this  continent  that  all  the  other 
associations  and  forces  that  ever  existed  on  it  and  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  to  boot."^^  This  was  a  private  letter  wa'itten  by  Turner 
to  his  closest  friend  and  helper  in  the  cause  only  three  weeks  after 
the  land  grant  bill  had  been  introduced  into  congress,  saying  in 
effect  that  the  bill  was  a  result  of  their  labor.  Would  Turner 
have  made  such  a  claim  under  these  circumstances  without  a 
reasonable  certainty  that  his  statement  was  true? 

The  appropriation  was  secured  in  essentially  the  form  pro- 
posed in  the  bill  of  1857.  Anticipating  by  a  few  years  let  us 
hear  what  these  Illinois  men  have  to  say  after  the  act  has  finally 
become  a  law.  Under  date  of  February  7,  1863,  the  following 
communication  from  John  Kennicott  was  printed  in  the  Prairie 
Farmer: 

' '  Though  intended  for  me  only,  I  pray  you  print  this  letter 
from  Professor  Turner.  I  accept  even  the  flattery  for  the  sake 
of  its  object.  Turner,  Murray  and  I,  with  a  few  others,  did 
labor  night  and  day  for  the  boon  now"  within  reach  of  the  State. 
The  idea  belongs  to  Illinois!  though  a  Vermonter  adopted  and 
urged  it  upon  a  willing  Congress.  Let  us  not  be  the  last  to 
accept  and  act  under  the  law. ' ' 

The  letter  from  Turner  to  Kennicott  had  been  written  after 
a  long  silence  due  to  the  war  and  to  the  writer 's  absence  in  Wash- 
ington where  he  had  gone  to  care  for  his  son  who  was  ill  in  one 
of  the  military  hospitals.  Not  intended  for  publication  it  Avas 
eloquent  evidence  of  the  work  that  had  been  accomplished  and 
of  the  hope  that  apathy  would  not  cheat  the  people  out  of  the 
benefits  that  were  now  actually  within  their  reach  and  it  urged 
especially  the  necessity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  state  to 
"Turner  to  Murray,  January  8,  1858,  Pennell  manuscripts. 


100  History  University  of  Illinois 

secure  forever  the  appropriation  made  by  congress.  "I  suppose 
you  see  by  Grovernor  Yates'  message  that  this  long  deferred  en- 
dowment to  each  State  in  the  Union,  for  an  Industrial  Univer- 
sity has  at  last  come  within  our  reach.  It  has  cost  you  and 
friend  IMurraj'  and  myself  many  a  hard  struggle  and  contest, 
with  both  professed  friends  and  foes;  many  long  days  and  nights 
of  painful  toil  and  thought,  and  care  and  travel  by  land  and 
water  in  past  years,  first  to  arouse  and  concentrate  the  public 
mind,  break  down  its  opposition,  and  break  up  its  still  more  fatal 
apath}',  by  agitations  in  meetings  and  assemblies  all  over  the 
State,  and  out  of  the  State ;  political  contests  at  the  Capitol  and 
in  the  papers,  by  manifold  letters  and  pamphlets  sent  abroad 
over  the  Union,  North,  South,  East  and  West,  in  order  by  these 
agitations,  first  to  get  the  thing  started,  and  then  more  direct 
and  quite  but  not  less  onerous  labor  of  guiding  the  thing  through 
so  many  years  to  its  first  successful  notice  in  Congress,  and  its 
final  passage  by  that  body.  All  this  you  well  know,  and  no  two 
men  on  earth  do  know  it,  or  ever  will,  but  yourself  and  friend 
Murray,  and  you  may  each  of  you  well  and  truly  say  "Pars 
magnae  fui";  and  though  no  reward  on  earth  awaits  you,  I 
know  you  will  meet  it  in  another  world,  for  j^ou  have  surely  been 
'faithful  in  these  few  things '."^^ 

Could  a  clearer  or  more  defiaiite  statement  of  what  actually 
occurred  be  given  ?  Both  Kennieott  and  Turner  connected  their 
work  directly  with  that  of  Morrill  for  the  land  grant  act.  These 
statements  of  theirs  square  Avith  the  facts  and  events  already 
described  in  previous  pages.  They  are  not  deceiving  themselves 
then  in  asserting  that  they  had  a  part  in  a  great  work. 

Petitions  in  behalf  of  this  project  came  to  congress,  as  has 
been  said,  in  great  numbers  immediately  following  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  bill  in  December,  1857.  These  w^ere  not  the  first 
bearing  directly  upon  this  particular  proposition  to  come  to  the 
attention  of  congress.  The  first  found  was  presented  by  John 
Wentworth  on  December  23,  1853.  It  was  "The  petition  of 
citizens  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  praying  for  a  grant  of  land  and 
the  appropriation  of  money  for  the  establishment  of  a  University 
in  each  State  of  the  Union  for  the  education  of  the  working 
"Prairie  Farmer,  February  7,  1863. 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  101 

classes.  "^^  It  is  true  the  legislature  of  Illinois  had  passed  reso- 
lutions to  the  same  effect  in  February,  1853,  but  they  were  not 
actually  presented  in  congress  until  over  a  year  later.  It  is  true 
also  that  other  states  had  asked  congress  for  a  grant  of  land  to 
establish  a  university,  or  agricultural  college  within  their  own 
slate  or  possibly  a  national  university  at  Washington,  D.  C.  and 
similar  projects.  These  should  not  be  confused  with  the  move- 
ment of  the  Illinois  men  "for  a  grant  of  land  from  congress  for 
the  endowment  of  an  agricultural  and  meclianical  college  in  eacJi 
of  ilie  states  of  the  Union. ' ' 

In  1854  at  least  nine  petitions  praying  for  an  industrial 
university  in  each  of  the  states  came  to  congress — all  from  Illi- 
nois. They  were  from  the  following:  January  16,  Agricultural 
society  of  Carroll  county;  January  18,  Board  of  supervisors  of 
Cook  county ;  March  16,  Board  of  supervisors  of  Bureau  county ; 
March  20,  Kane  county  agricultural  society;  March  20,  joint 
resolutions  of  the  Illinois  legislature;  March  27,  Lake  county 
agricultural  society ;  March  29,  county  court  of  Richland  county ; 
April  7,  county  court  of  Logan  county.i*^  In  1856  two  more  peti- 
tions from  Illinois  were  presented  to  congress  in  behalf  of  indus- 
trial universities  in  each  of  the  states:  one  was  presented  on 
March  10  from  the  state  educational  convention  and  the  other  on 
March  19  from  citizens  of  the  state  of  Illinois. 

The  introduction  of  the  land  grant  bill  on  December  14, 1857, 
was  the  great  impetus  for  the  sending  in  of  petitions :  from  Jan- 
uary 1  to  the  middle  of  May,  1858,  they  came  almost  daily  from 
all  over  the  United  States  in  behalf  of  the  proposed  land  grant. 
It  is  practically  impossible  to  get  a  complete  list  of  the  petitions 
for  the  reason  that  some  were  passed  immediately  to  the  commit- 
tee on  public  lands  having  the  bill  in  charge  without  being  pre- 
sented directly  in  the  house  or  senate ;  nevertheless  at  least  forty- 
five  have  been  noted,  among  them  being  those  of  the  state  agricul- 
tural societies  of  New  York,  Michigan,  and  Kentucky. i'''     The 

"House  Journal,  83  congress,  1  session,  138. 

^^House  Journal,  33  congress,  1  session,  207,  240,  51(3,  527,  530,  562, 
577,  609;  34  congress,  654,  692.  In  the  Senate  Journal,  33  congress,  1  ses- 
sion, 268;  34  congress,  1  and  2  session,  72,  is  noted  an  additional  petition 
from  the  judge  and  associate  justices  of  the  Shelby  county  court,  dated 
March  20. 

'"For  these  petitions  see  appendix,  ]>.  439. 


102  History  University  of  Illinois 

exact  number  niatlers  little  when  it  is  known  they  came  from  so 
many  different  sources,  from  such  representative  bodies  and 
societies  of  citizens  as  have  already  been  enumerated.  Particular 
attention  should  be  called,  however,  to  some  dozen  or  more  peti- 
tions that  came  to  congress  between  February  and  May,  1858. 
The  state  legislatures  of  Rhode  Island,  Maine,  New  Jersey,  and 
California  petitioned  for  a  grant  of  land  "to  each  of  the  states" 
v/hile  the  legislatures  of  Michigan,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Minne- 
sota asked  for  grants  for  their  particular  states  intending  thereby 
apparently  to  forward  the  land  grant  bill.  Mr.  Morrill  said  in 
February,  1859,  that  petitions  and  resolutions  in  support  of  the 
bill  had  come  from  at  least  thirteen  state  legislatures.'^ 

It  is  not  the  intention  to  convey  the  impression  that  the  Illi- 
nois influence  alone  was  sufficient  to  account  for  the  activity  of 
the  various  states  in  sending  petitions  to  congress  in  1858.  The 
movement  for  industrial  education  had  come  up  in  some  of  the 
states  before  it  had  touched  Illinois.''^  In  several  states  during 
the  years  1850  to  1859  more  had  been  accomplished  in  the  way 
of  practical  results  by  state  action  than  had  been  accomplished 
in  Illinois :  Michigan  had  actually  established  a  state  agricultural 
college  by  1857 ;  New  York  took  definite  action  in  1853  by  incor- 
porating an  industrial  institution  under  the  name  of  ' '  The  Peo- 
ple's  college; "20  in  1854  Pennsylvania  chartered  the  Farmers' 
high  school,  later  the  Pennsylvania  state  college,  which  opened 
in  1859;  in  1856  Maryland  incorporated  the  Maryland  agri- 
cultural college  which  received  students  in  September,  1859; 
and  in  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Wilder  succeeded  in  obtaining  in  1856 
from  the  state  legislature,  a  charter  of  "The  Trustees  of  the 
Massachusetts  school  of  agriculture." 

These  and  other  states  were  deeply  interested  in  industrial 
education  within  their  own  borders.  They  were  familiar  with 
the  subject  and  when  the  request  came  from  Illinois,  late  in  De- 
cember of  1857  or  early  in  1858  to  send  petitions  to  congress  in 

^^Congressional  Glohe,  35  congress  2  session,  1414. 

'■^ee  above,  p.  3-10. 

^Unfortunately  it  failed  later  to  comply  with  the  conditions  of  the  act 
of  1862  and  lost  the  opportunity  to  become  the  agricultural  college  of 
New  York. 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  108 

support  of  a  bill  to  grant  federal  lands  in  maintenance  of  an 
agricultural  and  mechanical  college  in  each  state  it  was  only- 
natural  for  them  to  comply  to  the  appeal  which  was  so  much  in 
their  own  interest. 

In  introducing  house  bill  Number  2,  known  very  widely  as 
the  Morrill  bill,  on  December  14,  1857,  Mr.  Morrill  recommended 
that  it  be  referred  to  the  committee  on  agriculture.  Instead  it 
was  referred  to  the  committee  on  public  lands.  It  is  quite  prob- 
able that  Mr.  Morrill  knew  that  the  bill  would  meet  with  some 
serious  opposition  in  this  committee,  therefore  his  attempt  to 
have  it  sent  to  the  committee  on  agriculture.  Nothing  more  was 
heard  of  the  bill  on  the  floor  of  the  house  until  April  15,  1858, 
when  it  was  reported  by  Chairman  Cobb  of  the  committee  on 
public  lands  with  the  recommendation  that  it  should  not  pass. 

After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  Morrill  gained  the  floor 
on  April  20  and  by  moving  a  substitute  for  the  entire  bill,  which 
differed  from  the  original  only  in  the  exclusion  of  the  territories 
from  the  benefits  of  the  land  grants,  brought  the  measure  before 
the  house  and  spoke  at  length  in  its  favor.^i  In  beginning  his 
speech  he  said :  ' '  There  has  been  no  measure  for  years  which  has 
received  so  much  attention  in  the  various  parts  of  the  country — 
so  far  as  the  fact  can  be  proved  by  petitions  Avhich  have  been 
received  here  from  the  various  states,  north  and  south,  from  state 
societies,  from  county  societies,  and  from  individuals.  They  have 
come  in  so  as  to  cover  almost  every  day  from  the  commencement 
of  the  session. ' '  He  told  how  immense  sums  had  been  expended 
to  promote  commerce  through  light-houses,  coast  surveys,  im- 
provements of  harbors,  and  through  the  navy  and  naval  academy ; 
that  West  Point  academy  was  maintained  at  government  expense ; 
that  immense  grants  had  been  made  to  railroads,  and  munificent 
ones  to  promote  general  education,  and  other  things  requiring  lib- 
eral expenditures  of  money;  but  that  all  direct  encouragement 
to  agriculture  had  been  rigidly  withheld.  With  us,  he  said, ' '  Ceres 
does  not  appear  among  the  gods  of  Olympus — only  appears  in  a 
picture  on  one  of  our  Treasury  notes!" 

He  then  showed  at  length,  supported  by  an  array  of  fig- 

^For  the  text  of  the  bill  see  appendix  p.  ;"99;  for  Morrill's  speech  see 
Congressional  Globe,  35  congress,  1  session,  1697. 


104  Hisioi'j/  University  of  Illinois 

urcs  and  quotations  of  opinions,  the  deterioration  of  crops  and  the 
wasteful  methods  of  land  tillage ;  that  new  land  was  treated  as 
if  inexhaustible,  and  that  infertility  was  soon  the  consequence. 
* '  The  nation, ' '  he  declared,  ' '  which  tills  the  soil  so  as  to  leave  it 
worse  than  they  found  it,  is  doomed  to  decay  and  degeneration. — 
Agriculture  undoubtedly  demands  our  first  care;  because  its 
products,  in  the  aggregate,  are  not  only  of  greater  value  than 
those  of  any  other  branch  of  industry,  but  greater  than  all  others 
together ;  and  because  it  is  not  merely  conducive  to  the  health  of 
society,  the  health  of  trade  and  commerce,  but  essential  to  their 
existence.  But,  while  it  is  the  most  useful  and  earliest  of  arts,  so 
sluggish  have  been  its  advances  that  we  are  yet  experimenting 
upon  problems  which  were  moot-points  with  the  farmers  two 
thousand  years  ago.  Surely  an  interest  so  superior,  and  of  such 
vital  consequence,  ought  not  to  be  left  to  lingering  routine,  but 
the  aid  of  science  should  be  invoked  to  accelerate  its  pace,  until 
it  can  keep  step  with  that  of  other  industrial  pursuits  of  man- 
kind. 

"The  agriculturists  have  been,  within  a  few  years,  aroused 
to  their  own  wants.  Periodicals,  from  a  higher  point  of  dignity 
and  influence,  have  fired  their  zeal.  The  eager  crowds  which 
throng  to  the  annual  fairs  of  our  agricultural  societies,  from 
the  national  down  to  'all  the  stars  of  lesser  magnitude,'  proclaim 
the  universal  hunger  there  is  for  a  profounder  information  touch- 
ing that  which  comes  home  to  their  business  and  bosoms.  They 
know  there  are  mysteries  dearly  concerning  them,  and  they  de- 
mand of  learning  and  of  science  a  solution.  'Deformed,  unfin- 
ished,' experiments — 

'scarce  half  made  up, 
And  that  so  lamely,' 

will  not  do.  Farmers  will  not  be  cheated  longer  by  unsustaincd 
speculations.  The  test  of  the  field  must  follow  and  verify  that 
of  the  laboratory.  The  half -bushel  and  the  balance  must  prove 
the  arithmetic.  The  result  must  support  the  theory.  They  want 
substance  and  not  a  shadow-bread  and  not  a  stone.  They  know 
well  there  is  a  vast  force  of  agricultural  labor  hitherto  misapplied, 
muscles  that  sow  where  they  do  not  reap,  and  they  demand  light 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  105 

— demand  to  have  their  arms  uiipiiiioned !  What  has  been  an  art 
merely  to  supply  physical  wants,  must  become  science — though  it 
wears 

'hodden  gray  and  a'  that' — 

doing  the  same  service,  but  more  abundantly,  and  also  doing 
something  to  satisfy  and  elevate  the  manhood  of  the  mass  of  peo- 
ple. Let  us  have  such  colleges  as  may  rightfully  claim  the 
authority  of  teachers  to  announce  facts  and  fixed  laws,  and  to 
scatter  broadcast  that  knowledge  which  will  prove  useful  in  build- 
ing up  a  great  nation — great  in  its  resources  of  wealth  and  power, 
but  the  greatest  of  all  in  the  aggregate  of  its  intelligence  and 
virtue. ' ' 

Morrill  referred  to  the  activity  of  governments  abroad  in 
establishing  model  and  experimental  farms,  ministers  of  instruc- 
tion, secondary  schools  and  colleges  devoted  to  industrial  educa- 
tion, and  to  the  improvement  of  industrial  resources  at  the 
national  expense.  He  indicated  the  favorable  effects  of  these 
efforts,  but  at  the  same  time  he  pointed  out  the  fact  that 
European  professors  and  their  teachings  could  be  of  little  con- 
sequence to  America  because  of  the  differences  of  conditions  and 
needs. 

Morrill  was  one  of  the  few  men  who  gave  any  emphasis  to  the 
fact  that  the  mechanic  arts  held  a  place  of  importance  in  the 
industrial  university  plan.  ' '  There  is, ' '  he  said,  ' '  no  class  of  our 
community  of  whom  we  may  be  so  justly  proud  as  our  mechanics. 
Their  genius  is  patent  to  all  the  world.  For  labor-saving  con- 
trivances, their  tact  seems  universal ;  and  when  any  one  of  them 
is  detailed  to  do  the  breathing  of  an  engine,  he  speedily  furnishes 
lungs  for  the  engine  to  do  that  sort  of  work  for  itself.  But  they 
snatch  their  education,  such  as  it  is,  from  the  crevices  between 
labor  and  sleep.  They  grope  in  twilight.  Our  country  relies 
upon  them  as  its  right  arm  to  do  the  handiwork  of  the  nation. 
Ijet  us,  then  furnish  the  means  for  that  arm  to  acquire  culture, 
skill  and  efficiency." 

In  regard  to  the  newer  ideas  of  education  based  on  its  direct 
usefulness  to  the  individual  Mr.  Morrill  observes :  "  It  is  plainly 
an  indication  that  education  is  taking  a  step  in  advance  when 


106  History  University  of  Illinois 

public  sentiment  begins  to  demand  that  the  faculties  of  young 
men  shall  be  trained  with  some  reference  to  the  vocation  to  which 
they  are  to  be  devoted  through  life.  It  is  eleai*  that  intellectual 
discipline  can  be  obtained  under  more  than  one  mode,  and,  if  the 
primary  education  sought  for  this  purpose  can  be  afterward 
applied  to  practical  use  in  the  destined  occupation,  it  is  a  point 
clearly  gained.  Law,  theology,  and  medicine,  have  been  special- 
ties from  the  time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the 
contrary.  Special  schools  for  art,  trade,  and  commerce,  though 
of  later  growth,  have  been  long  established  in  many  places 
throughout  Europe,  and  in  our  own  American  cities.  In  some 
places  these  institutions,  intended  to  be  practical  rather  than  spec- 
ulative, go  by  the  not  inapt  name  of  Real  Schools.  Agricultural 
colleges  and  schools  in  many  portions  of  Europe  are  a  marked 
feature  of  the  age.  In  our  own  country  the  general  want  of  such 
places  of  instruction  has  been  so  manifest  that  States,  societies, 
and  individuals  have  attempted  to  supply  it,  though  necessarily 
in  stinted  measures.  The  'plentiful  lack'  of  funds  has  retarded 
their  maturity  and  usefulness ;  but  there  are  some  examples,  like 
that  of  Michigan,  liberally  supported  by  the  State,  in  full  tide  of 
successful  experiment.  Adequate  means  to  start  on  a  scale  com- 
mensurate with  the  great  objects  in  view  seems  an  indispensable 
prerequisite.  States  have  been  unable  to  impose  at  once  the 
increased  taxation  that  would  be  required,  and  the  liberality  of 
private  individuals  has  been  unequal  to  the  task.  But  if  this 
bill  shall  pass,  the  institutions  of  the  character  required  by  the 
people,  and  by  our  native  land,  would  spring  into  life,  and  not 
languish  from  poverty,  doubt,  or  neglect.  They  would  prove 
(if  they  should  not  literally,  like  the  schools  of  ancient  Sparta, 
hold  the  children  of  the  State)  the  perennial  nurseries  of  patriot- 
ism, thrift,  and  liberal  information — places  'Where  men  do  not 
decay. '  They  would  turn  out  men  for  solid  use  and  not  drones ! " 
He  paid  his  respects  to  the  constitutional  arguments  and 
cited  long  lists  of  precedents  and  of  opinions.  He  showed  that 
over  forty-four  million  acres  of  landscrip  had  been  issued  to 
soldiers  in  lieu  of  pensions;  that  since  1850  nearly  twenty-six 
million  acres  had  been  donated  to  railroads ;  and  that  up  to  1857 
there  had  been  given  to  the  different  states  and  territories  sixty- 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  107 

seven  million,  seven  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  acres  for 
the  benefit  of  schools  and  universities.  The  seven  million  acres 
asked  for  in  the  bill  could  not  be  unwarrantable  upon  the  legal 
side.  And  since  four-fifths  of  all  the  people  v/ere  directly,  and 
the  other  fifth  indirectly  interested,  there  could  be  no  cry  of  class 
legislation.  ' '  It  is, ' '  he  said,  ' '  general  and  not  local  in  its  reach. 
There  is  no  new,  policy  involved.  While  Agriculture  has  been  a 
neglected  field  of  legislation,  it  does  not  now  call  for  the  exercise 
of  novel  constitutional  power."  In  concluding  the  speech  Mr. 
Morrill  said :  ' '  Pass  this  measure  and  we  shall  have  done :  some- 
thing to  enable  the  farmer  to  raise  two  blades  of  grass  instead 
of  one;  something  for  every  owner  of  land;  something  for  all 
who  desire  to  o\ni  land ;  something  for  cheap  scientific  education ; 
something  for  every  man  who  loves  intelligence  and  not  igno- 
rance; something  to  induce  the  father's  sons  and  daughters  to 
settle  and  cluster  around  the  old  homestead ;  something  to  remove 
the  last  vestige  of  pauperism  from  our  land  ;  something  for  peace, 
good  order,  and  the  better  support  of  Christian  churches  and 
common  schools ;  something  to  enable  sterile  railroads  to  pay  divi- 
dends; something  to  enable  the  people  to  bear  the  enormous  ex- 
penditures of  the  national  Government;  something  to  check  the 
passion  of  individuals,  and  of  the  nation,  for  indefinite  territorial 
expansion  and  ultimate  decrepitude ;  something  to  prevent  the 
dispersion  of  our  population,  and  to  concentrate  it  around  the 
best  lands  of  our  country — places  hallowed  by  church  spires,  and 
mellowed  by  all  influence  of  time — where  the  consumer  will  be 
placed  at  the  door  of  the  producer;  and  thereby  something  to 
obtain  higher  prices  for  all  sorts  of  agricultural  productions ;  and 
something  to  increase  the  loveliness  of  the  American  landscape, 
Scientific  culture  is  the  sure  precursor  of  order  and  beauty.  Our 
esthetic  Diedrich  Knickerbockers,  who  have  no  land,  will  have  a 
fairer  opportunity  to  become  great  admirers  of  land  that  belongs 
to  others. ' ' 

As  soon  as  Morrill  had  taken  his  seat,  Representative  Cobb 
of  Alabama,  the  chairman  of  the  public  lands  committee,  which 
had  reported  unfavorably  upon  the  first  bill,  and  the  most  active 
enemy  of  the  land  grant  plan,  moved  that  the  whole  matter  be 
laid  upon  the  table.  His  motion  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  114  to  83. 
showing  that  the  house  Avas  ready  to  give  the  l)ill  a  direct  hearing. 


108  History  University  of  Illinois 

Two  days  later  a  new  iiiutioii  to  lay  the  bill  on  the  table  was 
defeated  and  an  attempt  to  refer  it  back  to  the  committee  on 
public  lands  suffered  a  similar  fate.  These  efforts  to  sidetrack 
the  measure  having  failed  the  only  hope  of  the  opposition  was 
now  to  defeat  the  measure  on  the  floor  of  the  house. 

In  the  debate  upon  the  bill  that  followed  Cobb  took  the  lead 
in  the  attack.  He  claimed  that  it  had  not  been  the  policy  of  the 
government,  save  for  one  or  two  exceptions,  to  grant  lands  for 
such  purposes,  and  that  the  bill  proposed  the  inauguration  of  a 
new  system,  the  result  of  which  could  not  be  foreseen.  He  at- 
tempted to  show  that  the  federal  government  had  only  limited 
powers  and  that  it  was  denied  the  authority  to  act  in  relation 
to  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  several  states;  that  if  the  general 
government  possessed  the  power  to  make  grants  within  the  states 
for  local  purposes,  without  a  consideration,  its  action  in  that 
respect  would  have  no  limitation  but  such  as  policy  or  necessity 
might  impose ;  and  in  support  of  these  arguments  Mr.  Cobb  read 
entire  the  report  of  the  majority  of  the  conunittee  of  which  he 
was  chairman.  He  pointed  out  that  congressional  representation 
was  no  just  basis  upon  which  to  distribute  public  lands  for  agri- 
cultural colleges,  or  for  any  other  purpose ;  that  under  this  bill 
New  York  with  twenty-nine  million,  four  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  acres  of  land  would  receive  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  and  that  Iowa  with  thirty  two  million,  five  hundred 
forty-eight  thousand  nine  hundred  sixty  acres  of  land  would 
receive  only  eighty  thousand  acres ;  and  that  the  Morrill  amend- 
ment by  which  the  territories  had  been  excluded  from  the  benefits 
of  this  bill,  was  unjust.  In  conclusion  Mr.  Cobb  admitted  that 
he  had  erred  in  voting  for  an  earlier  bill  to  grant  lands  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  insane  asylums.  In  spite  of  his  forcible 
presentation  of  the  arguments  of  the  opposition  the  land  grant 
bill  passed  the  house  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  five  to  one  hun- 
dred. 

In  the  senate  the  measure  met  with  a  stormy  reception. 
Here  on  April  23, 1858,  it  Avas  referred  to  the  committee  on  public 
lands  with  Senator  Stuart  of  Michigan,  its  warm  friend,  as  chair- 
man. As  this  committee  could  not  agree  among  themselves  it 
reported  the  bill  back  to  the  senate  without  recommendation.  Mr. 


Illinois  Flan  Before  Congress  109 

Stuart  made  several  attempts  to  bring  it  up  but  the  senate 
adjourned  on  June  15  and  the  bill  went  over  to  the  next  session. 
As  soon  as  the  senate  convened  in  December  of  1858  Senator 
Stuart  announced  that  he  would  call  up  the  bill.  On  December 
15,  16,  and  23,  he  made  attempts  to  call  it  but  the  senate  refused 
in  each  instance  to  consider  it,  either  from  hostility  or  from  the 
press  of  other  business.  Soon  thereafter  another  champion  of 
the  bill  appeared  who  could  good  naturedly,  again  and  again, 
permit  the  matter  to  be  postponed  but  who  finally  declared  he 
would  resist  everything  else  and  that  action  for  or  against  must 
and  should  be  taken.  This  was  Senator  Wade  of  Ohio.  Opposed 
to  him  with  equal  tenacity  of  purpose,  if  not  with  equal  suc- 
cess in  the  outcome,  was  Senator  Pugh,  also  from  Ohio.  Besides 
Senator  Pugh,  those  who  spoke  most  warmly  against  the  bill 
were  Senators  Clay  of  Alabama,  Green  of  Missouri,  ]\Iason  of 
Virginia,  and  Davis  of  Mississippi.  These  men  all  urged  consti- 
tutional objections.  Grim  of  California  objected  because  mineral 
lands  were  included,  and  Rice  of  Minnesota  opposed  because  he 
thought  the  locations  of  land  in  his  state  would  be  detrimental. 
Senators  Stuart  of  ]\Iichigan,  Harlan  of  Iowa,  Simmons  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  Collamer  of  Vermont,  warmly  advocated  the  passage 
of  the  bill,  while  other  friends  and  enemies  contributed  to  the 
hot  discussion. 

It  was  February  1  when  Senator  Wade  succeeded  in  calling 
up  the  bill,  and  at  the  end  of  the  discussion,  which  ran  into  the 
next  day,  it  was  recommitted  to  the  committee  on  public  lands  on 
motion  of  Senator  Pugh.  This  vote  was  reconsidered  on  February 
3,  and  the  bill  remained  on  the  calendar  for  consideration  until 
February  7,  when  it  was  again  taken  up,  discussed  at  great 
length,  and  finally  passed  by  a  vote  of  twenty-five  to  twenty-two. 

A  quotation  from  the  impassioned  speech  of  C.  C.  Clay  of 
Alabama  during  this  debate  gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  alignment  of 
forces  as  well  as  an  excellent  summary  of  the  principles  of  those 
opposing  the  bill : 

"By  whom  is  this  measure  supported?  By  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Republicans  and  the  Americans  now  classed  I  believe 
together,  according  to  the  present  party  nomenclature,  under  the 
name  of  'the  Opposition,'  who  habitually   declaim  against    the 


110  Jlislorif  Univcrsitii  of  lUi)i()is 

extravagance  of  the  Admiiiistialiou  and  the  Democratic  party; 
who,  with  fervid  patriotism  profess!  to  desire  economy,  retrench- 
ment, and  reform  in  the  pnl)lic  expenditures;  and  who,  in  this 
instance,  as  in  most  others,  discredit  their  professions  of  good 
faith  by  their  bad  works. 

"Among  them,  strange  to  tell,  are  the  representatives  of 
some  of  the  new  States,  notwithstanding,  as  suggested  by  the 
honorable  Senator  from  Minnesota,  (Mr.  Rice,)  the  effect  of  this 
measure  will  be  to  enable  greedy  capitalists  to  monopolize  large 
bodies  of  the  public  lands,  keep  them  from  settlement  and  cultiva- 
tion, and  thereby  retard  the  growth,  the  wealth,  and  prosperity 
of  their  own  States.  But,  stranger  still,  among  its  supporters  are 
found  a  few — I  am  glad  to  say  a  very  few — members  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  who  profess  to  be  the  advocates  of  State  rights ;  of 
a  strict  construction  of  the  Federal  Constitution ;  opposed  to  en- 
larging Federal  powers  by  construction ;  in  favor  of  the  largest 
liberty  of  the  States  consistent  with  the  prohibitions  of  the  Con- 
stitution ;  opposed  to  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public 
lands;  in  favor  of  the  principles  and  sentiments  enunciated  by 
General  Jackson  in  his  veto  of  the  land  distribution  bill ;  opposed 
to  any  intervention  by  Congress  Avith  the  domestic  affairs  of  the 
states,  and  in  suffering  them  to  manage  their  own  internal  and 
local  affairs  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution." 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1858  and  the  first  two 
months  of  1859  Turner,  together  with  a  number  of  men  in  other 
states  worked  incessantly  to  bring  influence  to  bear  upon  the 
senate  and  the  president  that  would  result  in  the  enactment  of 
the  land  grant  bill  into!  law.  In  the  autumn  of  1858  Turner  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  President  J.  R.  Williams  of  Michigan  state 
agricultural  college  which  stated  there  was  serious  danger  of  the 
bill  being  vetoed  by  the  president  and  suggested  that  it  would  be 
well  to  get  the  Buchanan  men  among  the  Illinois  representatives, 
to  use  their  influence  to  prevent  a  veto.22  After  a  trip  to  Wash- 
ington in  January,  1859,  President  Cary  of  Farmers  college,  Ohio, 
wrote  Turner  that  the  United  States  agricultural  society  had  con- 
sidered favorably  resolutions  in  support  of  the  land  grant  bill. 
He  mentioned  also  a  ' '  convocation ' '  to  whicb  a  few  men,  among 

"Williams  to  Turner,  Octoljor  19,  1858,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  111 

them  Turner,  had  been  invited.  ' '  We  had  a  grand  time, ' '  wrote 
Gary,  ' '  and  gave  the  '  Ball '  a  roll  such  as  it  never  had.  We  had 
strong  men  and  true  and  they  worked  like  brothers. '  '^3  He  men- 
tioned that  Dr.  John  Kennieott  of  Illinois  was  there  and  ' '  though 
feeble  in  body  did  by  his  presence  and  voice  good  service."  He 
mentioned  also  M,  P.  Wilder  of  Massachusetts  as  a  host  in  him- 
self and  added  that  they  had  worked  together  as  "David  and 
Jonathan. ' ' 

There  were  other  men  in  Washington  at  that  time  working 
in  the  interest  of  the  bill,  among  them  were  Professor  Brown  of 
the  New  York  people's  college,  L.  C.  Byington  of  Iowa,  D.  P. 
Holloway  of  Indiana,  W.  F.  M.  Arny  of  Kansas,  and  representa- 
tives of  several  other  states.  There  is  no  evidence  at  hand  to 
show  that  any  one  man  at  that  time  was  leading  in  this  work 
to  influence  congress.  Men  of  the  east  and  west  joined  in  working 
for  the  bill,  which  they  recognized  would  be  of  great  value  to  each 
of  the  states. 

In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  friends  of  industrial  education 
both  in  and  out  of  congress,  on  February  26,  1859,  the  land  grant 
bill  was  returned  to  the  house  of  representatives  with  the  presi- 
dent's veto.  Buchanan  had  found  the  bill  unacceptable  for  nu- 
merous reasons:  it  w^as  extravagant  as  its  effect  would  be  to 
deprive  the  almost  depleted  treasury  of  the  $5,000,000  which  the 
sale  of  public  lands  was  expected  to  produce  during  the  next 
fiscal  year ;  it  was  impolitic  because  it  would  encourage  the  states 
to  rely  upon  the  federal  government!  for  aid  to  which  they  were 
not  entitled;  it  was  injurious  to  the  new  states  since  it  would 
force  down  the  value  of  land  scrip  and  make  it  possible  for  spec- 
ulators to  obtain  large  tracts  within  their  borders ;  it  was  insuffi- 
cient to  assure  the  promotion  of  industrial  education  because, 
although  the  state  legislatures  were  required  to  stipulate  that 
they  would  apply  the  land  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  had  been 
granted,  there  was  no  power  in  the  federal  government  to  compel 
them  to  execute  their  trust ;  it  was  unjust  since  it  would  interfere 
with  and  probably  injure  colleges  already  established  and  sus- 
tained by  their  own  effort ;  it  was  unconstitutional  since  there  was 
no  grant  of  power  to  the  federal  government  to  expend  public 

^Cary  to  Turner,  January  19,  1859,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


112  History  University  of  Illinois 

money  or  public  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  in  the  various 
states. 

After  the  president's  message  had  been  delivered  Morrill 
moved  that  it  be  printed  and  then  in  a  brief  but  forceful  address 
asked  the  reconsideration  of  the  bill.  He  declared  that  the  veto 
of  a  bill  introduced  without  regard  to  party  lines  and  carried 
on  its  own  merits  through  both  houses,  ' '  pressed  by  petitions  and 
Resolutions  from  the  Legislatures  of  at  least  thirteen  States,  and 
by  an  indefinite  number  of  memorials  from  private  citizens" 
had  been  a  serious  blunder  if  not  a  crime.  He  then  took  up  the 
reasons  for  the  veto  as  they  appeared  in  the  message  and  answered 
them  one  by  one.  He  evidenced  his  belief  that  the  president's 
action  had  been  impelled  by  political  considerations,  sarcastically 
suggesting  that  the  financial  objection  came  "with  ill  grace  from 
a  Magistrate  who  has  wasted  more  than  ten  million  dollars  in  a 
grand  march  of  the  army  to  Utah,  who  is  wasting  a  larger  sum 
by  the  grander  naval  demonstration  against  Paraguay,  and  who 
would  waste  $30,000,000  more  in  the  grandest  of  all  propositions 
— the  snatching  of  Cuba."  He  pointed  out  that  there  was  no 
probability  that  the  national  treasury  would  suffer  during  the 
current  year  since  it  would  require  at  least  a  year  or  two  for  the 
states  to  pass  the  legislation  necessary  to  take  advantage  of  the 
land  grant.  He  asserted  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  principle 
of  federal  aid  to  industrial  education  in  each  of  the  states  that 
was  more  likely  to  cause  a  request  for  unwarranted  favors  from 
the  central  government  than  might  be  found  in  the  idea  of  na- 
tional support  to  state  deaf  and  dumb  hospitals  to  which  "James 
Buchanan"  and  other  prominent  democrats  gave  their  hearty 
support  twenty  years  earlier.  He  showed  that  Jackson  had 
vetoed  a  land  bill  in  1833  because  it  had  given  twelve  and  a  half 
per  cent  more  land  to  the  new  states  than  to  the  old,  but  declared 
that  "this  bill  does  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  the  States 
according  to  the  census  of  1850 ;  and  it  further  provides,  that  if, 
by  the  increase  of  population,  the  new  States,  or  any  States,  shall 
have  an  increased  representation  in  Congress  in  1860,  they  shall 
receive  twenty  thousand  acres  for  each  additional  Representative 
they  may  then  be  entitled  to.  I  therefore  contend  that  there  is  a 
discrimination  rather  for  the  benefit,  than  the  injury,  of  the  new 


Illinois  Plan  Before  Congress  113 

States,  to  which  this  provision  would  only  practically  apply.  Thus 
Democratic  Presidents  differ — agreeing  only  in  the  veto,  by  which 
the  will  of  the  people,  as  expressed  by  their  Representatives  here, 
shall  be  crushed  out.  One  is  for  justice  to  the  old  States,  and  the 
other  for  justice  to  the  new  States,  but  neither  for  justice  to  all." 
In  defense  of  the  educational  features  of  the  bill  Morrill  said : 
"The  president  wholly  mistakes  the  object  of  the  bill  which  was 
to  offer  free  tuition  to  the  boys  of  farmers  and  mechanics — not 
to  enrich  corporations  and  endow  professorships — and  to  enable 
them,  by  their  own  industry,  to  acquire  what  might  not  otherwise 
be  within  their  reach — a  liberal  education.  One  great  object  was 
to  arrest  the  degenerate  and  downward  system  of  agriculture  by 
which  American  soil  is  rapidly  obtaining  the  rank  of  the  poorest 
and  least  productive  on  the  globe,  and  to  give  to  farmers  and 
mechanics  that  prestige  and  standing  in  life  which  liberal  cul- 
ture  and  the  recognition  of  the  Government  might  afford.  To 
all  this  the  President  turns  a  deaf  ear."  He  then  took  up  the 
argument  that  the  land  might  not  be  used  for  the  purpose  to 
which  it  had  been  appropriated  once  it  had  passed  beyond  the 
control  of  the  central  government.  He  pointed  out  that  the  states 
were  pledged  to  hold  the  land  in  trust  for  a  specific  object  and 
that  the  objection  that  the  federal  government  lost  the  opportu- 
nity to  compel  the  use  of  the  lands  for  the  intended  purposes 
conflicted  with  the  wish,  expressed  in  the  same  message,  that  the 
affairs  of  state  and  central  governments  be  kept  apart.  Turning 
to  the  possibility  of  injury  to  already  established  colleges  and 
to  the  president's  suggestion  that  it  were  better  to  establish  pro- 
fessorships of  agriculture  in  such  institutions  Morrill  again  gave 
his  anger  toward  Buchanan  full  play:  "What  constitutional 
difficulty  would  thus  be  avoided,  I  confess,  is  to  me  incompre- 
hensible. The  wisdom  of  the  suggestion  and  its  feasibility  clearly 
belongs  to  the  President  alone.  If  the  object  be  to  excite  the 
jealousy  of  existing  colleges,  it  is  unworthy  of  notice.  I  know 
that  the  friends  of  such  institutions,  men  of  thorough  education, 
are,  in  all  sections  of  the  country,  the  cordial  and  devoted  friends 
of  this  bill.  I  do  not  understand  this  hint  in  any  other  sense  than 
this :  that  the  President  was  not  consulted  in  regard  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  this  bill.    Had  he  been  thus  consulted,  or  had  the  details, 


114  History  University  of  Illinois 

even,  been  prepared  by  some  Democratic  member,  then  it  might 
have  received  his  assent." 

Finally  Morrill  turned  to  the  constitutional  objection ;  he 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  constitution  gave  congress 
the  power  to  dispose  of  the  public  lands,  and  that  such  a  power 
was  absolute  and  unqualified ;  he  ridiculed  the  inference  that  to 
give  was  not  to  dispose  and  he  expressed  his  amazement  that  a 
man  who  had  voted  public  lands  to  the  use  of  the  insane  should 
now  find  a  similar  measure  for  the  benefit  of  the  sane  to  be  uncon- 
stitutional. 

When  Mr.  Morrill  had  resumed  his  seat  the  vote  upon  the 
bill  was  taken,  105  representatives  declaring  for  and  94  against 
the  measure;  the  bill  therefore,  lacking  the  required  two-thirds 
failed  to  pass  over  the  presidential  veto,^^  It  is  significant  however 
that  on  this  final  ballot  the  bill  had  mustered  the  same  number 
of  votes  as  on  its  first  test  in  the  house;  the  original  friends  of 
the  bill,  a  non-partisan  majority  of  the  whole  body  had  supported 
the  measure  to  the  last. 


'^Congressional  Globe,  35  congress  2  session,  1412-1415.  The  veto  mes- 
sage was  dated  February  24,  1859,  and  reported  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives on  February  26,  1859. 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  115 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  FINAL  PERIOD  OF  THE  LAND  GRANT 
PROPOSITION 

The  veto  of  the  land  grant  bill  by  President  Buchanan  was 
a  great  disappointment  to  the  friends  of  industrial  education. 
The  agricultural  papers  both  east  and  west  had  fully  endorsed 
the  bill  and  the  press  was  without  doubt  correct  in  saying  that 
the  people  had  looked  with  more  real  interest  to  the  passage  of 
this  bill  than  that  of  any  measure  that  had  been  introduced  for 
many  years,  for  to  them  it  was  no  party  measure  despite  the  fact 
that  it  had  been  made  to  assume  that  aspect  by  certain  politicians 
at  Washington, 

The  reasons  offered  by  President  Buchanan  for  his  veto  were 
plausible  and  were  sustained  by  arguments  that  seemed  sufficient 
to  satisfy  him  of  the  rectitude  of  his  course,  but  the  people  neither 
approved  his  logic  nor  sanctioned  his  deductions.  Cincinnatus, 
edited  by  President  F.  G.  Gary,  of  Farmers  college,  Ohio,  strongly 
expressed  its  disapproval  of  the  action  of  the  chief  executive.  In 
its  March,  1859  issue,  prepared  before  the  veto,  the  editor  had 
predicted  that  President  Buchanan  would  sign  the  bill  because 
he  had  said  only  a  short  time  before  that  ''he  should  feel  while 
he  lived,  as  he  had  ever  felt,  the  deepest  interest  in  the  success 
of  Agriculture,  because  after  all  it  w^as  the  greatest  interest  upon 
which  the  foundation  of  Nations  and  States  must  rest.''^  In  its 
April  number  written  after  the  veto  the  Cincinnatus  admitted 
that  it  was  a  very  uncertain  procedure  to  draw  conclusions  from 
such  sources  and  that  an  extravagantly  liberal  margin  must  be 
allowed  for  the  interpretation  of  political  principles  as  well  as 
for  that  of  political  platforms.  The  editor  asserted  that  the  veto 
power,  especially  when  it  arrayed  itself  against  the  decided  and 
deliberate  decision  of  the  people  through  their  representatives 
in  congress  was  a  doubtful  expediency.  In  saying  this,  he  re- 
vealed, of  course,  his  deep  feeling  of  regret  and  even  of  resent- 

^Cincinnatus,  March,  1859. 


116  Uislorij  University  of  Illinois 

iiicnt  at  the  exercise  of  the  veto  on  the  land  grant  bill.  He  con- 
cluded a  seven  page  article  on  the  subject  by  expressing  the  belief 
that  the  course  pursued  by  the  chief  magistrate  would  only  add 
strength  to  the  cause. 

The  Illinois  Farmer  in  its  March,  1859  issue  said:  "The 
farmers  and  other  industrial  classes  of  the  United  States  will  be 
grievously  disappointed  at  this  act  of  the  President.  Shall  they 
yield  their  claims  to  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  on  account  of 
this  defeat?" 

Turner  with  other  friends  of  the  industrial  educational 
movement  throughout  the  country  was  greatly  disappointed  by 
the  veto  even  though  he  had  known  for  several  months  that  such 
action  was  quite  probable.  Sympathy  came  to  him  from  men 
prominent  in  affairs  in  other  states.  Mr.  Suel  Foster  of  Mus- 
catine, Iowa,  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  newly 
forming  agricultural  college  in  Iowa  Avrote  Turner  under  date 
of  March  5,  1859,  describing  the  work  going  on  in  Iowa.  "We 
are  about  to  inaugurate, ' '  he  said,  ' '  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 
our  country — that  which  was  commenced  15  or  20  years  ago  in 
Europe,  where  it  is  now  very  imperfectly  developing  itself, — 
which  was  commenced  some  years  ago  by  yourself.  I  know  not 
how  many — the  light  of  which  has  been  kindled  from  one  to 
another."  His  high  regard  for  Turner  is  still  further  evidenced 
by  this:  "I  ask  of  you  if  you  could  not  be  induced  to  come  over 
and  help  us,  in  the  capacity  of  President  of  the  Institution." 
Near  the  close,  referring  to  the  recent  veto,  he  said:  "Please 
excuse  Jimmy  Buchanan,  etc., — consider  the  source — We  will 
be  prepared  at  the  next  Administration. '  '^ 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1859  and  early  in  1860  prepara- 
tions were  made  in  the  country  at  large  and  in  Illinois  especially 
to  carry  the  great  plan  of  a  land  grant  for  agricultural  and 
mechanical  colleges  once  more  before  congress.  The  United 
States  agricultural  society  at  its  eighth  annual  winter  session, 
took  up  the  discussion  of  the  subject.  Mr.  C.  B.  Calvert  of  Maiy- 
land  offered  a  series  of  resolutions  one  of  which  referred  to  the 
president's  veto  of  the  Morrill  bill.  He  followed  the  introduction 
of  the  resolutions  with  a  vigorous  speech  in  which  he  pointed  out 
Tester  to  Tuiiier,  March  5,  1859,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  117 

the  inconsistencies  in  Mr.  Buchanan's  actions  of  1827  and  1859, 
and  the  absurdity  of  his  constitutional  argument;  finally  he 
objected  to  conferring  upon  Mr.  Buchanan  honorary  membership 
in  the  society.  Members  of  the  society  agreed  with  Mr.  Calvert 
in  his  attitude  toward  agricultural  education  but  not  in  his  atti- 
tude toward  the  president  and  therefore  his  resolution  was  not 
adopted. 

In  Illinois  the  state  agricultural  society  and  the  state  horti- 
cultural society  at  their  annual  mid-winter  meetings  appointed 
committees  to  act  conjointly  in  calling  a  convention  of  the  people 
of  the  state  ' '  to  concert  measures  for  the  establishment  of  a  per- 
manent system  of  agricultural  instruction  on  a  practical  and 
economical  basis,  "^  and  this  joint  committee  sent  forth  the  call 
for  a  convention  to  be  held  in  Bloomington  on  Wednesday,  June 
27,  1860.  The  committee  requested  all  organized  agricultural, 
horticultural,  and  mechanical  associations  in  the  state  to  select 
delegates  and  also  invited  all  persons  interested  in  the  subject 
of  agricultural  education  to  come  and  aid  in  devising  measures 
to  accomplish  the  ends  proposed.'*  The  earnestness  of  the  com- 
mittee is  shown  in  the  fact  that  they  sent  one  of  their  members, 
Mr.  C.  T.  Chase  of  Chicago,  on  a  tour  of  inspection  of  existing 
agricultural  colleges  and  schools  within  the  United  States  to  learn 
what  he  could  of  their  plans  and  operation  in  order  that  he 
could  give  a  report  of  his  findings  at  the  coming  convention. 

Pursuant  to  the  call  the  fifth  industrial  convention  met  at 
Bloomington  on  the  appointed  date.  Captain  James  N.  Brown 
of  Sangamon  county  was  made  chairman  and  after  the  selection 
of  vice  presidents  and  secretaries,  Mr.  Chase  presented  a  report 
upon  conditions  existing  at  the  various  agricultural  institutions 
throughout  the  country,  and  it  appeared  as  special  correspon- 
dence in  the  Chicago  Weekly  Times  upon  the  same  day : 

"C.  T.  Chase,  of  Chicago,  stated  that  he  had  visited  in 
person  as  far  as  time  would  permit  the  greater  number  of  the 
institutions  for  agricultural  education  in  this  country.  If  a  name, 
an  organization,  good  professors  and  facilities  constitute  an  agri- 

'Eesolutions  of  the  committees  of  the  state  agricultural  society  and  state 
horticultural  society,  Prairie  Farmer,  Juue  14,  1860. 

*Prairie  Farmer,  June  14,  1860. 


118  History  Universifif  of  Illinois 

cultural  school,  then  we  have  several.  The  difficulty  was  that  at 
the  greater  part  of  such  institutions  the  classical,  literary- 
branches  cf  education  absorbed  the  principal  attention,  and  there 
was  little  devotion  to  the  practical  application  of  science  to  agri- 
culture. There  has  been  very  many  experiments  tried,  and  the 
whole  project  of  agricultural  schools  might  be  said  to  be  yet, 
in  this  country,  in  the  transition  stage,  the  stage  of  experiment. 
Near  Cincinnati  there  was  an  institution  professing  to  give  agri- 
cultural education;  but  agriculture  was  not  taught,  nor  was 
there  even  the  indispensible  professorship  of  agricultural  chem- 
istry. Thinking  that  information  on  this  subject  might  be  ob- 
tained from  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Mr.  Chase  had  visited 
Washington,  where  he  was  treated  in  the  kindest  manner  by 
Professors  Henry  and  Baird,  the  Secretary  and  assistant  Secre- 
tary of  the  Institute.  Though  their  time  was  fully  engaged  in 
the  prosecution  of  duties  then  weighing  upon  them,  they  con- 
ferred fully  with  him  on  the  subject,  and  very  much  facilitated 
his  subsequent  inquiries  by  furnishing  him  with  letters  of  intro- 
duction. 

''At  Bladensburg,  a  few  miles  from  Washington,  was  the 
Maryland  Agricultural  college,  which  had  been  in  operation 
about  eight  months.  A  body  of  men  subscribed  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  institution  $50,000,  of  which  sum  one-half  had  been 
paid.  The  State  had  granted  the  sum  of  $6,000  annually,  as  an 
endoAvment.  One  gentleman  from  Louisiana  had  made  an  annual 
endowment  of  $2,800  for  eight  years,  to  endow  an  agricultural 
professorship.  The  professors  having  charge  of  the  various  de- 
partments were  of  high  reputations.  The  building  was  a  large 
five-story  one,  capable  of  accommodating  120  scholars — less  than 
that  number  is  in  attendance.  By  the  rules,  the  pupils  were 
required  to  work  in  the  field  three  hours  each  day.  They  do, 
in  fact,  work  about  two  hours,  some  working  very  cheerfully,  and 
some  taking  to  it  hardly,  not  seeing  the  necessity  in  their  circum- 
stances of  working.  I  was  informed  by  the  officers  that  the  work 
done  by  the  boys  cost  all  it  was  worth;  since  they  had  to  have 
it  all  gone  over  again.  The  institution  has  professorships  of 
Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics,  and  an  enthusiastic  Entomologist 
who  lectures  two  hours  each  week  and  has  infused  his  enthusiasm 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  119 

into  his  scholars.  The  entomological  professor  received  no  salary 
or  remuneration.  They  also  are  crippled  by  debt,  and  their  suc- 
cess has  been  further  embarrassed  by  the  interference  of  the 
board  of  trustees  with  the  magisterial  management  of  the  school. 
"In  the  larger  eastern  cities,  as  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Boston,  farm  schools  have  been  instituted,  having  for  their 
object  the  reclamation  of  younger  children  who  have  become 
demoralized  by  association  with  vicious  companions.  These  are 
doing  well,  and  are  being  pushed  forward  with  much  energj'. 
In  many  places  benevolent  persons  are  founding  horticultural 
schools  on  a  small  scale.  Near  New  York  citj'  one  has  lately  been 
amply  endowed  by  a  lady,  having  for  its  object  the  instruction 
of  females  in  horticulture.  In  most  of  the  eastern  colleges  a 
scientific  course  of  study  has  been  adopted  which  is  termed  an 
elective  course,  and  can  be  pursued  instead  of  the  regular  class- 
ical course.  But  the  scientific  course  has  fallen  into  disfavor, 
as  in  the  eyes  of  the  professors,  the  classical  course  has  the 
precedence.  And  while  the  study  of  science  can  be  pursued, 
there  is  no  attempt  to  practically  apply  science  to  agriculture. 
The  Lawrence  Scientific  School  at  Cambridge,  connected  with 
Harvard  University,  has  a  high  reputation.  The  Polytechnic 
School  of  Pennsylvania  is  now  endeavoring  to  engraft  upon  its 
regular  course  an  agricultural  department  and  a  commission  has 
been  appointed  to  examine  locations  for  the  use  of  an  experi- 
mental farm.  There  is  at  Bolcsbury,  Pennsylvania,  what  is 
called  a  Farmer's  High  School  but  it  is  a  school  where  higher 
branches  are  taught  for  the  benefit  more  especially  of  farmers' 
sons.  As  yet  but  little  has  been  done  in  it  in  the  way  of  agricul- 
tural education.  In  the  state  of  New  York  an  effort  had  been 
made  to  found  an  agricultural  college.  The  State  has  loaned  a 
sum  for  twenty-one  years  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it  on. 
Land  has  been  bought  at  Ovid,  on  Seneca  Lake,  and  buildings 
erected,  with  the  expectation  that  it  will  be  in  successful  opera- 
tion next  fall.  This  is  a  manual  labor  School.  In  Michigan,  for 
the  purpose  of  endowing  an  agricultural  college,  the  legislature 
granted  twenty-two  sections  of  land,  the  avails  from  the  sale  of 
which  were  devoted  to  this  purpose.  The  legislature  subsequently 
granted  $56,000  in  further  aid.    A  large  farm  in  a  dense  forest 


120  History  University  of  IlU}wis 

was  bought  and  buildings,  reasonably  commodious,  erected.  But 
the  institution  has  sunk  to  the  bottom,  entangled  with  political 
matters,  financial  cmbarrassements  and  difficulties  of  various 
kinds.  The  students  became  unwell,  the  season  was  unpropitious 
and  crops  failed.  It  is  now  reorganized  under  Professor  Fish, 
who  filled  the  chair  in  chemistry;  a  great  university  Was  at- 
tempted to  be  built  up,  and  the  farmer's  department  has  taken 
much  greater  prominence. 

"In  Iowa  it  was  intended  to  found  an  agricultural  college, 
but  as  yet  the  matter  is  merely  in  embryo.  The  State  has  gone  so 
far  as  to  buy,  for  the  purpose,  seven  hundred  acres  located  a 
day's  ride  from  Des  Moines,  the  capital. 

"The  general  result  is  that  nothing  has  yet  been  substan- 
tially and  effectively  done  for  the  cause  of  agricultural  education ; 
yet,  what  has  been  done  has  had  its  good  results  in  pointing  llie 
dangers  to  be  avoided — and  may  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  pioneer 
work  in  the  enterprise.  And  it  remains  for  the  State  of  Illinois, 
ignoring  all  sectional  and  political  jealousies,  simply  striving  for 
the  best  manner  and  men,  to  carry  forward  this  noble  work  to  a 
successful  and  prosperous  issue." 

After  the  reading  of  the  report,  C.  B.  Denio,  a  former  repre- 
sentative in  the  legislature  and  a  leading  member  of  the  state 
agricultural  society,  made  an  important  claim  before  this  large 
assembly  of  agriculturists  which  the  Illinois  Farmer  of  July, 
1860  reported  as  follows:  "C.  B.  Denio  made  one  of  his  most 
characteristic  speeches.  He  stated  that  when  in  the  legislature, 
some  years  since,  at  the  suggestion  of  Professor  Turner,  he  pre- 
sented resolutions  asking  a  donation  of  half  a  million  acres  of 
land  for  the  purpose  of  just  such  an  institution.  The  East  now 
claimed  the  honor  of  Morrill 's  Land  Bill ;  but  such  is  not  the 
case,  and  to  Professor  Turner  is  due  the  first  starting  of  that 
ball. ' '  Turner  was  present  at  this  convention  and  if  what  Denio 
claimed  for  him  had  not  been  true  he  would  have  been  on  his 
feet  in  a  moment  to  make  denial. 

McChesney  of  Springfield  made  a  short  address  in  which  he 
told  of  the  efforts  being  made  by  the  University  of  Chicago  to 
establish  an  agricultural  department  and  of  its  plans  for  a  farm 
and  for  pi'ofessorships,  adding  that  ho  did  not  wish  to  be  under- 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  121 

stood  as  trying  to  forestall  in  any  manner  the  action  of  the  con- 
vention. 

Being  called  upon,  Turner  addressed  the  convention  as  fol- 
lows: "I  see  an  omen  for  the  future  in  the  present  gathering. 
I  remember  well  w^hen  we  could  not  get  out  a  single  farmer  at  a 
convention  for  this  purpose,  though  repeated  calls  and  drumming 
had  been  made,  and  though  the  convention  w^as  held  at  the  capital 
during  the  session  of  the  legislature.  The  "world  moves  Mr. 
President.  If  I  might  be  allowed  to  use  a  farmer's  homely 
simile :  While  sitting  in  my  own  dooryard  I  have  seen  the 
immense  droves  of  Missouri  cattle  coming  by,  and  as  the  heavy, 
clustered  tramp  of  the  pawing  bellowing  herd  came  near,  all  left 
their  irresistible,  onward  path;  and  so  now  I  feel  when  I  see 
the  farmers  coming  up  in  masses,  bent  on  the  accomplishment 
of  an  object — I  feel  the  presence  of  a  mighty,  irresistible  power.  "^ 

The  speaker  suggested  the  necessity  of  union  and  the  entire 
abandonment  of  sectional  interests.  He  expressed  the  belief 
that  the  failure  of  agricultural  institutions  heretofore  had  been 
due  to  the  attempt  to  make  manual  labor  schools  of  them,  to 
entangle  them  with  state  and  political  interests,  and  to  the  fact 
that  persons  whose  tastes  and  spirit  were  not  agricultural  had 
frequently  been  placed  at  their  heads.  To  put  an  elderly  clergy- 
man at  the  head  of  an  agricultural  school  was  like  placing  General 
Scott  in  charge  of  a  theological  seminary.  The  speaker  advocated 
as  a  source  of  endowment  the  passage  of  the  land  grant  bill.  He 
deprecated  any  jealousy  of  the  school  located  at  Chicago,  the 
state  was  a  broad  one,  and  he  w^as  only  sorry  that  the  noble  v/ork 
commenced  at  Chicago  was  not  four  fold  in  its  extent.  He  sug- 
gested the  placing  of  the  proposed  agricultural  school  in  charge 
of  men  appointed  by  the  two  great  and  permanent  organizations 
who  are  chosen  by  the  farmers  and  mechanics  at  large. 

At  the  evening  session  the  resolution  committee  of  five  men 
with  Turner  as  chairman  reported  a  preamble  and  a  series  of 
eight  resolutions  all  bearing  upon  education  in  the  state  and 
nation.  The  second  resolution  is  quoted  as  being  of  special 
interest : 


^Chicago  Weekly  Times,  June  27,  1860. 


122  History  Univei'sity  of  Illinois 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  hereby  request  the  executive 
committees  of  our  State  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Societies 
to  appoint  a  committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be — 1st,  to  memorial- 
ize Congress  to  grant  to  each  of  the  States  of  the  Union  such  aid 
as  was  contemplated  in  the  bill  called  the  'Morrill  Bill,'  Avhich 
passed  the  House  and  Senate  at  a  recent  session ;  2d,  to  memo- 
rialize and  urge  upon  our  State  Legislature,  to  renew  their 
petition  to  Congress,  for  the  same  substantial  aid ;  3d,  to  urge 
the  establishment  by  the  State  Legislature  of  a  school  or  depart- 
ment of  agriculture,  under  the  general  direction  of  a  board  ap- 
pointed conjointly  by  the  same  State  Agricultural  and  Horticul- 
tural Societies  for  this  purpose ;  4th,  to  provide  courses  of  lec- 
tures on  agriculture  and  horticulture,  similar  to  the  course  at  the 
last  session  in  Yale  College,  to  be  delivered  at  such  times  and 
places  as  they  shall  deem  most  fit,  and  to  take  measures  needful 
to  secure  these  results. '  '^ 

Thus  the  Illinois  men  kept  their  hands  to  the  plow.^  The 
news  of  their  action  was  published  widely  in  newspapers,  in  the 
agricultural  press  in  Illinois  and  adjoining  states.  Experience 
had  taught  them  the  value  of  agitation. 

Turner  was  laying  plans  looking  to  the  re-introduction  of 
the  land  grant  bill  into  congress.  It  is  related  by  one  who  had 
the  best  opportunities  for  knowing  that  before  the  campaign  of 
1860,  Turner,  talking  with  Mr.  Lincoln  at  Decatur,  told  him  that 
he  would  be  nominated  for  president  at  the  coming  convention 
and  afterward  elected.  ''If  I  am,"  replied  Lincoln,  '"I  will 
sign  your  bill  for  state  universities. ' '  A  little  later,  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  met  Turner  on  a  train  as  he  was  going  to  Peoria,  and 
assured  him:  "If  I  am  elected  I  will  sign  your  bill."  Thus 
Turner  had  assurances  that  whether  the  election  went  for  the 
republicans  or  the  Douglas  democrats,  the  land  grant  bill  if  it 
again  passed  congress  would  not  be  vetoed. 

As  has  been  previously  noted,  Senator  Douglas  had  sent  for 

"Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:985. 

'"In  this  convention  a  letter  was  read,  written  by  some  gentlemen  in 
Urbana,  who  had  not  been  able  to  be  present,  that  that  section  would  con- 
tribute for  the  purpose,  a  building  erected  at  a  cost  of  $100,000."  Chicago 
TVeeMy  Times,  June  28,  1860.  The  building  mentioned  was  the  one  actu- 
ally given  to  the  state  in  1867  for  the  university. 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  123 

a  copy  of  the  plan  in  1857  and  had  said  of  it:  "it  is  the  most 
democratic  scheme  of  education  ever  proposed  to  the  mind  of 
man!"  Now  although  defeated  for  the  presidency,  he  continued 
his  interest  and  in  June,  1861,  he  wrote  Turner  requesting  his 
plan  for  an  industrial  university  and  its  history,  as  he  wished  to 
introduce  a  land  grant  bill  at  the  next  session  of  congress  himself. 
Turner  prepared  a  full  and  complete  account  as  requested  and 
sent  it  to  the  post  office  by  his  son,  who  shortly  returned  with  the 
letter,  saying  a  telegram  had  just  been  received  announcing  the 
death  of  Senator  Douglas  in  Chicago.  In  grief  and  disappoint- 
ment Turner  threw  the  letter  into  the  waste-basket.^ 

But  there  was  no  need  for  despair.  This  was  merely  the 
darkness  that  precedes  the  dawn.  The  fulfillment  of  his  hopes, 
the  end  of  a  ten  years  struggle  for  industrial  education,  was 
nearer  than  Turner  could  possibly  have  realized. 

Early  in  December,  1861,  Mr.  Morrill  again  gave  notice  of 
his  intention  to  introduce  a  bill  similar  in  effect  to  the  land  grant 
bill  of  1859.  On  December  16  he  introduced  it  as  house  bill  138. 
Without  contest  it  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  public  lands, 
with  Mr.  Potter  of  Wisconsin  as  chairman.  It  slumbered  with 
this  committee  until  May  29,  1862,  when  it  was  reported  with  the 
recommendation  that  it  should  not  pass.  This  recommendation, 
made  without  stated  reasons,  was  referred  to  the  committee  of 
the  whole.  On  June  5  Mr.  Morrill  asked  leave  to  print  a  substi- 
tute Avhich  he  desired  to  offer,  but  this  failed  on  the  objection  of 
Mr.  Holman  of  Indiana.  Here  ended  the  short  life  of  house 
l)ill  138.9  There  seems  to  have  been  insurmountable  antagonism 
to  it  which  centered  in  a  few  opponents  who  had  great  power  at 
the  time  because  of  their  official  positions,  among  them  IVIr.  Potter 
of  Wisconsin,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  public  lands. 

Tired  of  the  delay,  and  possibly  with  some  understanding  with 
Mr.  Morrill,  on  May  2,  1862,  Mr.  Wade  of  Ohio  introduced  senate 
bill  298  which  was  referred  to  the  senate  committee  on  public 

'For  the  above  incidents  relating  to  Lincoln  and  Douglas  see  Carriel, 

Life  of  Turner,  159-160. 

'For  action  on  this  bill  see  House  Journal,  37  congress,  2  session, 
74,  773. 


124  History  Vniversiti)  of  Illinois 

lands  with  a  friend,  Senator  Harlan  of  Iowa  as  chairman.'"  On 
May  16  a  favorable  report  with  amendments  was  made,  and  now 
commenced  another  struggle  as  determined  as  was  the  former 
senatorial  conflict, — this  time  with  the  men  from  the  new  states 
as  opponents.  Senators  Lane  of  Kansas  and  Wilkinson  of  Min- 
nesota were  especially  strenuous  in  their  opposition,  maintaining 
that  the  location  of  large  bodies  of  land  in  their  states  upon  the 
scrip  proposed,  would  be  exceedingly  detrimental  to  them. 

Senator  Lane  of  Kansas  urged  that  if  the  bill  passed,  his 
state  would  suffer  a  great  injustice.  Kansas,  he  declared,  had  an 
abundance  of  valuable  land  within  her  border  but  her  school  lands 
had  not  yet  been  selected  nor  did  she  have  her  share  of  railroad 
lands.  The  effect  of  this  measure  would  be  to  throw  into  the 
hands  of  non-residents  almost  every  foot  of  valuable  land  in  the 
state.  As  an  illustration  he  suggested  that  New  York  under  this 
bill  would  get  a  million  acres  of  land,  that  land-scrip  for  that 
amount  would  be  issued  and  it  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  specu- 
lators in  Isiew  York  City  who  would  go  to  Kansas  and  locate  it. 
"We  shall  have,"  he  continued,  "entire  counties  thus  held  with- 
out a  possibility  of  getting  a  school,  without  a  possibility  of  work- 
ing roads ;  and  shall  I  tell  any  western  man  here  the  terrific 
consequences  growing  out  of  lands  held  in  large  quantities  by 
non-residents  ?  "^  ^ 

Senator  Wilkinson  of  Minnesota  agreed  entirely  with  Sen- 
ator Lane  in  his  argument  in  reference  to  non-residents  holding 
land,  but  he  based  his  opposition  on  a  broader  proposition,  one 
which  in  reality  included  the  other:  what  the  new  states  really 
needed  was  population;  lands  were  of  no  value  to  them,  they 
wanted  an  industrious,  thrifty,  virtuous  people  to  settle  within 
their  border.  The  tendency  of  the  homestead  bill  which  was  soon 
to  go  into  effect  would  be  to  accomplish  this  while  the  bill  under 
discussion  would  counteract  the  good  effects  of  the  homestead 
law.  Wilkinson  acknowledged  the  liberality  of  congress  in  grant- 
ing lands  to  Minnesota  for  railroad  purposes  but  expressed  the 
belief  that,  since  the  organization  of  the  territory,  no  one  act 

^"For  action  ou  the  bill  in  the  senate  see  Senate  Journal,  37  congress,  2 
session,  444  ff. 

^''Congressional  Globe,  37  congress,  2  session,  2248. 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  125 

of  congress  had  done  Minnesota  so  much  injury.  "Besides,"  he 
argued,  ' '  I  greatly  doubt  whether  the  states  receiving  this  grant 
will  profit  very  much  from  the  donation  if  it  is  made.  Schemes 
will  be  set  on  foot  by  designing  men  to  obtain  the  scrip,  and  the 
States  themselves  will  realize  but  very  little  from  it."^^  j^ 
addition  he  maintained  that  it  w^ould  encourage  fraud  and  cor- 
ruption on  the  part  of  the  men  getting  possession  of  this  state 
scrip  and  that  speculators  would  get  the  best  land,  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  volunteers  serving  in  the  army  at  the  time.  The  pow- 
erful combined  effort  of  these  two  men  at  length  succeeded  in 
getting  an  amendment  prohibiting  the  location  of  more  than  one 
million  acres  in  any  one  state. 

The  weight  of  influence  of  leading  senators,  such  men  as 
Wade  of  Ohio,  Harlan  of  Iowa,  and  Trumbull  of  Illinois,  was 
thrown  in  favor  of  this  bill.  They  made  no  long  speeches,  probably 
realizing  that  they  had  a  large  majority  and  that  speeches  were 
unnecessary.    Their  remarks  were  brief  and  pointed. 

Senator  Wade  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  bill,  or 
one  precisely  like  it,  had  been  passed  by  both  houses  of  congress, 
that  it  had  been  before  the  people  and  before  congress  for  a  long 
time  and  though  vetoed  it  had,  nevertheless,  been  very  generally 
approved.  He  admitted  he  did  not  know  what  the  situation  was 
in  Kansas  in  regard  to  her  public  lands.  That  she  had  been 
granted  as  much  as,  and  even  more  than  most  of  the  new  states, 
had  been  admitted.  "I  think,"  said  he,  "the  General  Govern- 
ment has  a  right  to  take  all  those  lands  wherever  they  may  lie, 
and  appropriate  them  to  such  purposes  as  in  the  judgment  of 
Congress  is  thought  best,  and  I  do  not  think  that  the  State  has  any 
right  to  complain  of  that.  The  Senator  says  it  leads  to  a  land 
monopoly.  I  cannot  see  that  it  does  any  more  than  the  sale  of 
the  lands  by  the  Government.  The  Government  sells  lands  to 
individuals  in  any  quantity  without  restriction,  and  that  may 
lead  to  a  monopoly  just  as  much  as  this."^^ 

The  discussions,  occurring  on  May  21,  24,  28,  30,  and  June 
10,  were  long  and  animated.  On  the  latter  day  Senator  Wade 
decided  emphatically  that  he  would  give  way  to  nothing,  and 

"Congressional  Globe,  37  congress,  2  session,  2395. 
^^Congressional  Globe,  37  congress,  2  session,  2249. 


126  History  Universitjj  of  Illinois 

forced  a  vote,  which  was  32  to  7  in  favor  of  the  bill  as  amended. 
Wade's  great  parliamentarj^  ability  and  the  value  of  his  long 
experience  was  constantly  displayed  in  the  skillful  manner  in 
which  he  guided  the  bill  through  and  over  the  snags  placed  in 
its  way  by  a  number  of  energetic  opponents. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  Iowa  and  Ohio,  with  whom  the 
Illinois  men  had  had  frequent  correspondence  on  the  subject  of 
petitioning  congress,  both  had  instructed  their  senators  to  sup- 
port the  land  grant  bill.  Other  states,  too,  instructed  their  sen- 
ators to  support  the  bill  but  it  was  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
three  leading  senators  mentioned  above  as  favoring  the  bill  thai 
made  success  assured. 

Thus  Mr.  Morrill  was  given  the  opportunity  to  make  a  final 
effort  for  the  measure  in  the  house;  on  June  17  he  called  up 
senate  bill  298,  and,  after  a  contest  with  ]\Ir.  Potter  of  Wisconsin 
and  Mr.  Holman  of  Indiana  on  the  question  of  referring  it  to 
the  committee  on  public  lands,  he  finally  forced  it  to  a  vote  and 
it  passed  90  to  25.  The  ballots  in  the  senate  and  in  the  house 
show  two  things :  the  reduced  membership  of  congress  compared 
wdth  that  of  1859,  on  account  of  the  civil  war,  and  the  greatly 
reduced  proportional  vote  against  the  bill.  This  measure  which 
was  essentially  from  the  people  and  for  them  was  in  no  danger 
this  time  of  perishing  by  means  of  the  veto;  it  became  a  law 
Avithout  hesitation  or  constitutional  quibble  on  July  2,  1862,  by 
the  hand  of  President  Abraham  Lincoln. 

This  bill  as  finally  passed  was  practically  as  it  was  when  first 
introduced.  The  important  changes  wxre  to  insert  thirty  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  for  each  member  of  congress  instead  of  twenty 
thousand  as  first  proposed ;  the  exclusion  of  the  benefits  to  states 
while  in  the  act  of  rebellion ;  and  the  requirement  to  teach  mili- 
tary tactics.  This  last  clause  was  a  birth-mark,  that  will  serve 
forever  to  direct  the  attention  of  students  to  the  perils  of  the 
republic  at  the  time  the  law^  was  passed.  The  very  day  President 
Lincoln  affixed  his  signature  the  army  of  the  Potomac  began  its 
retreat  from  the  disastrous  and  bloody  fields  of  Malvern  Hill. 

Thus  after  a  long  hard  struggle  the  land  grant  bill  became  a 
law.     Certainly  not  one  of  the  sixty-nine  institutions  that  have 


Final  Period  Land  Grant  Bill  127 

been  created  or  greatly  expanded  because  of  this  law,  and  prob- 
ably not  one  of  the  states  that  have  accepted  grants  under  it, 
today  regret  its  passage.  Although  there  may  have  been  some 
frauds  in  the  handling  of  the  scrip  and  although  the  states,  as 
predicted  by  the  opponents  of  the  bill,  did  not  in  some  instances 
get  the  full  benefits  of  the  grants  made,  yet  the  plan  on  the 
whole  has  proved  a  wonderful  success. 

Of  more  value  to  education,  however,  than  the  actual  appro- 
priation of  lands,  great  as  it  Avas,  was  the  fact  of  the  creation 
of  a  great  system  of  industrial  universities  which  the  states  them- 
selves have  learned  to  value  and  to  foster. 


128  History  University  of  Illinois 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  MEN  WHO  LED 
JONATHAN  BALDWIN  TURNER 

At  the  age  of  forty-three  in  the  year  1848,  Jonathan 
Baldwin  Turner  had  proved  himself  eminently  successful  as  a 
human  being.  Hg  was  broken  in  health ;  he  had  just  resigned 
his  position  as  professor  of  literature  and  belles-lettres  in  Illi- 
nois college  because  he  could  not  keep  his  distasteful  views  to 
himself ;  he  was  poor,  wretchedly,  pinchingly  poor  with  a  wife 
and  five  small  children  dependent  upon  him.  Yet  in  spite  of 
these  apparent  evidences  of  failure,  Turner  had  built  for  him- 
self enduring  foundations  for  his  later  success  as  a  pioneer  in 
educational  reform.  He  was  fearless,  bold,  free ;  and  he  knew 
the  educational  needs  of  his  state  as  few  men  could  know  them. 

His  path  to  financial  safety  was  literally  a  thorny  one :  it 
was  the  path  of  the  red  raspberry  and  the  osage  orange.  The 
Turner  red  raspberry  is  still  the  standard  for  this  climate ;  the 
osage  was  his  answer  to  the  question  which  involved  the 
success  of  the  state:  "What  shall  we  do  for  fences?" 
Without  fences  Illinois  was  destined  to  be,  not  a  region 
of  home-farms,  but  of  great  plantations  or  estates.  And 
Illinois  could  not  buy  fences  in  that  day;  she  had  to  raise  them 
and  they  must  be  "horse-high,  bull-strong,  and  pig-tight."  The 
problem  demanded  the  man.  Variety  after  variety  of  soil- 
produced  fencing  Turner  made  the  subject  of  his  experiment 
only  to  discard  each  and  all.  Finally  he  found  a  hardy  thorny 
native  of  Arkansas  and  Texas,  the  osage  orange.  Exultantly 
he  said  of  the  osage,  "One  good  gate,  well  locked,  makes  the 
whole  farm  secure  against  all  intruders."  Then  came  the  civil 
war.  The  osage  must  be  brought  from  Arkansas  by  a  north- 
erner as  no  southerner  could  be  brought  into  business  relations 
with  the  north.  Turner  was  sure  he  had  solved  this  problem 
when  he  induced  an  agent  to  venture  into  Arkansas  for  the 
seed.     But  when  this  agent  beheld,  hanging  from  trees,  the 


> 
'A 
O 
m 

o 
-!; 


O 

w 

K 


Men  Tf  7io  Led  129 

bodies  of  three  other  northern  men  who  had  ventured  into 
Arkansas  on  business,  he  resigned  his  position  and  Turner  could 
not  find  another  agent  who  would  accept  it.  However,  Turner 
was  not  defeated,  he  was  merely  confronted  with  a  fresh  prob- 
lem. Through  the  agricultural  press  he  urged  the  farmers  to 
plant  the  osage  trees  in  th«ir  hedges  twenty-five  feet  apart  and 
to  sell  him  the  oranges.  Thus  he  soon  had  seed  for  all.  The 
old  order  has  changed  and  we  are  grubbing  out  the  osage,  but  it 
served  a  vital  need  in  its  day  for  it  gave  the  state  the  chance 
to  develop  along  natural  lines. 

At  this  period  of  his  life  when  Turner  w^as  gaining  an 
understanding  of  his  particular  corner  of  the  earth,  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  ever  again  he  intended  to  devote  himself  seriously  to  edu- 
cation. But  his  experience  had  fitted  him  to  see  the  failure  of 
the  education  of  his  day.  He  saw  that  the  day 's  work  of  a  live 
man  is  a  more  rational  basis  for  a  man's  education  than  the 
faded  parchments  of  dead  monks.  As  to  the  contempt  in  which 
the  traditional  schools  of  the  day  held  the  work  of  the  men 
who  are  in  the  truest  sense  nation-builders.  Turner  declared: 
"Whenever  this  fatal  delusion  prevails,  the  necessary  result 
must  be  a  monstrosity,  not  a  manhood ;  a  monk,  rather  than  a 
man ;  and  it  will  be  found,  at  last,  to  give  the  world  pedants  and 
pettifoggers  for  priests  and  teachers,  rowdies  and  robbers  for 
rulers,  and  only  old  vices  under  new  names,  for  all  the  aban- 
doned and  discarded  vices  of  their  f oref athers.  "^ 

Again  with  a  direct  and  magnificent  drive  that  shattered 
the  proper,  paper  houses  of  convention : 

"Can,  then,  no  schools  and  no  literature  suited  to  the 
peculiar  wants  of  the  industrial  classes,  be  created  by  the  appli- 
cation of  science  to  their  pursuits?  Has  God  so  made  the 
world,  that  peculiar  schools,  peculiar  applications  of  science, 
and  a  peculiar  resultant  literature  are  found  indispensable  to 
the  highest  success  in  the  art  of  killing  men,  in  all  states,  while 
nothing  of  the  kind  can  be  based  on  the  infinitely  multifarious 
arts  and  processes  of  feeding,  clothing  and  housing  them? 
Are  there  no  sufficient  materials  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  high- 
est mental  and  moral  discipline  in  immediate  connection  with 

^Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People,  7. 


130  History  UniversHn  of  Illiiiois 

these  pursuits? For  what,  but  for  this  very  end  of  intellec- 
tual discipline  and  development,  has  God  bound  the  daily  labors 
of  all  these  sons  of  toil  in  the  shop  and  on  the  farm,  in  close 
and  incessant  contact  with  all  the  mighty  mysteries  of  his  own 
creative  wisdom,  as  displayed  in  heaven  above,  and  on  earth 
beneath,  and  in  the  waters  and  soils  that  arc  under  the  earth? 

Why  has  God  linked  the  light,  the  dewdrop,  the  clouds, 

the  sunshine,  and  the  storm,  and  concentrated  the  mighty 
powers  of  the  earth,  the  ocean  and  the  sky,  directed  by  that 
unknown  and  mysterious  force  which  rolls  the  spheres,  and 
arms  the  thunder-cloud — why  are  all  these  mystic  and  potent 
influences  connected  with  the  growing  of  every  plant  and  the 
opening  of  every  flower,  the  motion  of  every  engine  and  every 
implement,  if  he  did  not  intend  that  each  son  and  daughter  of 
Adam's  race  should  learn  through  the  handicraft  of  their  daily 
toil,  to  look  through  naturei  up  to  nature's  God,  trace  his  deep 

designs,  and  derive  their  daily food,  from  that  toil  that  is 

ever  encircled  and  circumscribed  on  all  hands,  by  the  unfath- 
omed  energies  of  his  wisdom  and  his  power?  No  foundation 
for  the  development  and  culture  of  a  high  order  of  science  and 
literature,  and,  the  noblest  capacities  of  mind,  heart  and  soul, 
in  connection  with  the  daily  employments  of  the  industrial 
classes!  "2 

Then  with  the  fine  vigor  of  an  upstanding  man  who  has 
enough  behind  his  eyes  to  see  what  is  before  them,  he  thunders : 

''How  came  such  a  heathenish  and  apostate  idea  ever  to 
get  abroad  in  the  world?  Was  God  mistaken  when  he  first 
placed  Adam  in  the  garden,  instead  of  the  academy?  or  when 
he  sentenced  him  to  toil  for  his  future  salvation,  instead  of 
giving  him  over  to  abstract  contemplation?  when  he  made  his 
Son  a  carpenter  instead  of  a  rabbi  ?  Or  when  he  made  a  man 
a  man  instead  of  a  monk  ? '  '^ 

In  Turner's  time  these  ideas  were  distinctly  revolutionary. 
Work  with  the  hands  still  was  regarded  as  the  primal  curse 
and  to  transfer  science  from  the  class  room  and  the  laboratory 


^Turner,  IndusMal  Universities  for  the  People,  12,  13. 
Ubid.,  13. 


Men  Wlw  Led  131 

to  the  field  and  the  workshop,  thus  alleviating  the  curse  of  toil, 
was  looked  upon  as  little  short  of  irreligious. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Turner  came  of  a  family  whose 
members,  men  and  women,  were  distinguished  by  fearlessness 
and  force.  His  grandfather,  Lieutenant  Edward  Turner,  fought 
at  Bunker  Hill,  When  the  Americans  had  to  retreat  because 
of  the  tragic  fact  of  lack  of  ammunition,  it  was  young  Lieu- 
tenant Turner  who,  springing  upon  an  embankment,  encour- 
aged the  soldiers  into  maintaining  an  orderly  retreat.  Turner's 
father  was  Captain  Asa  Turner  who  fought  in  Shay 's  Rebellion, 
that  brave  outburst  against  the  misuse  of  authority.  Turner's 
mother  when  an  old  woman  chased  a  party  of  Indian  braves 
from  the  house  with  a  fire  shovel.  The  Turners  were  a 
doughty  race. 

Jonathan  Turner  was  born  in  1805.  His  boyhood  was  spent 
upon  a  New  England  farm.  His  college  education  he  obtained 
at  Yale  where  he  ranked  high  in  his  class,  winning  prizes  in 
English  composition  and  Greek.  In  1835  he  married  Rhodol- 
phia  Kibbe  who  joined  him  in  his  life  as  a  pioneer  in  the  great 
northwest  where  he  had  been  for  two  years,  a  professor  in 
Illinois  College  at  Jacksonville. 

Shortly  after  Turner's  arrival  in  Jacksonville  an  epidemic 
of  cholera  broke  out.  People  fell  dead  like  oxen  struck  by  the 
butcher's  ax.  Early  and  late  Turner  nursed  the  sick.  Upon 
one  occasion  it  seemed  his  patient  must  die.  Turner  doubled 
the  prescribed  doses  of  medicine,  quadrupled  them;  then,  as 
death  came  nearer,  he  stopped  measuring  altogether  and  fairly 
fed  his  patient  tincture  of  red  pepper,  laudanum,  and  brandy. 
The  disease  could  not  withstand  such  measures,  the  patient 
could  and  recovered. 

Turner  lost  no  opportunity  of  acquainting  himself  with 
conditions  in  the  great  northwest.  In  the  summer  of  1834  he 
made  a  seven  weeks  trip,  visiting  twelve  or  fifteen  counties  of 
Illinois,  his  object  being  to  arouse  people  to  the  necessity  of 
reorganizing  their  common  schools.  Upon  this  trip  he  learned 
all  he  could  of  the  state  of  education  among  the  people  and  he 
began  to  realize  how  little  the  education  offered  by  the  schools 
and  colleges  met  the  needs  of  their  lives. 


13ii  Hist  or  ]i  University  of  Illinois 

The  years  from  1835  on  were  eventful.  For  a  time  while 
he  was  professor  in  Illinois  College  he  also  had  charge  of  the 
Congregational  churches  at  AVaverly  and  Chandlersville,  for  he 
was  ordained  a  minister  shortly  after  coming  west.  In  1843 
and  1844  he  was  editor  of  the  Illinois  States7nan,  the  second 
antislavery  paper  in  Illinois.  So  active  in  antislavery  agitation 
was  he  that  he  received  an  anonymous  letter  in  1842  warning 
him  that  an  attempt  was  to  be  made  on  his  life.  Later  the  letter 
was  identified  as  having  been  written  by  Cassius  M.  Clay.  His 
pamphlet  on  "Philosophy  of  money"  which  appeared  in  1842 
was  highly  commended  by  Daniel  Webster.  He  invented  a 
cornplanter,  a  plow,  and  other  farm  implements  which  served 
their  purpose  and  retired  honorably  when  others  that  served 
still  better  appeared.  In  religion  he  was  aggressive,  demanding 
that  religion  be  an  affair  of  life.  His  speeches  upon  religion 
abounded  in  sarcasm  that  cut  through  the  sham  of  pious  con- 
vention. We  find  in  one:  "For  then  as  now,  no  faith  was 
deemed  orthodox  that  had  not  been  settled  down  long  enough 
to  begin  to  petrify  and  turn  to  stone."'*  Of  a  certain  good 
gentleman  prominent  in  his  time,  he  remarked:  " — a  most 
excellent  Christian  man,  now  in  heaven,  but  then  too  orthodox 
for  either  heaven  or  earth.  "^ 

This  habit  of  vigorously  piercing  sham  must  have  made 
him  exhilarating  and  interesting,  but  a  college  faculty  must 
look  to  its  funds ;  hence  it  can  be  understood  that  the  resigna- 
tion of  Turner  in  1848  brought  relief  from  uncomfortable  sus- 
pense. 

Turner  was  not  connected  with  an  educational  institution 
when  he  first  publicly  announced  his  plan  for  industrial  educa- 
tion. Undoubtedly  the  fact  that  he  had  no  such  connection  was 
a  help  to  him,  for  it  is  inconceivable  that  a  college  of  the 
accepted  type  with  a  curriculum  based  on  Latin  and  Greek 
would  have  endured  his  plan  or  his  presence  during  the  long 
years  of  the  fight  that  followed  its  announcement. 

Yet  never  in  those  years  of  fight  did  he  think  of  giving  up 
the  cause.     Long  after  the  establishment  of  the  system  of  land 


^From  Speech  called  Historic  Morgan. 
''Ibid. 


Men  Who  Led  133 

grant  institutions  Bronson  Murray,  one  of  his  strongest  sup- 
porters, wrote  to  Turner's  daughter,  Mrs.  Carriel :  "Your 
father  was  the  soul,  spirit,  and  battle  axe  during  all  the  fifties 
of  the  movement  favoring  Industrial  Education  as  compared 
with  and  in  preference  to  the  Linguistic  or  Professional."'^ 

Turner  felt  acutely,  when  he  announced  his  plan  in  1851, 
the  dull  tragedy  of  ignorance  that  was  being  enacted  on  our 
prairie  farms  and  in  our  workshops.  "As  things  now  are," 
he  said,  "our  best  farmers  and  mechanics  by  their  own  native 
force  of  mind,  by  the  slow  process  of  individual  experience, 
come  to  know  at  forty  what  they  might  have  been  taught  in  six 
months  at  twenty ;  while  a  still  greater  number  of  less  fortunate 
or  less  gifted  stumble  on  through  life  almost  as  ignorant  of 
every  true  principle  of  their  art  as  when  they  began.  "^  It  was 
this  drama  of  ignorance  that  he  wished  to  stop ;  thus  preventing 
the  tragic  fifth  act  when  a  completely  depleted  soil  brings  the 
furies  of  famine  and  poverty.  "It  may  do,"  he  said  again, 
"for  the  man  of  books  thus  to  plunge  at  once  amid  the  cata- 
combs of  buried  institutions  and  languages,  to  soar  away  to 
Greece  and  Rome  and  Nova  Zembla,  Kamchatka  and  the  fixed 
stars  before  he  knows  how  to  plant  his  own.  beans  or  harness  his 
own  horse  or  can  tell  whether  the  functions  of  his  own  body 
are  performed  by  a  heart,  stomach  and  lungs  or  with  a  gizzard 
or  gills.  But  for  the  man  of  work  thus  to  bolt  away  at  once 
from  himself  and  all  his  pursuits  in  after  life  contravenes  the 
plainest  principles  of  nature  and  common  sense."*  The  task 
of  forcing  upon  his  generation  a  more  practical  scheme  of  edu- 
cation than  the  one  in  vogue  proved  herculean.  Truth  is  not  a 
power  that  coaxes  error  gently  from  the  lap  of  time ;  she  merely 
arms  the  devotee  with  a  weapon  that  makes  it  possible  for  him 
to  pitch  it  out  if  he  has  the  strength.  Turner  gave  himself  un- 
sparingly to  his  idea:  he  wrote,  lectured,  thought,  suffered  dis- 
appointment, and  escaped  defeat  only  because  he  was  not  de- 
featable. 


•Murray    to    Mrs.    Carriel,    November    10,    1901,    Turner    manuscripts, 
Springfield. 

'Turner,  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People. 
UUd. 


134  History  University  of  Illinois 

The  bitterest  opposition  came  fi'oni  the  classical  and  theo- 
logical colleges.  Upon  the  occasion  of  the  Springfield  conven- 
tion in  1852  certain  '  *  guests  by  courtesy, ' '  representatives  and 
advocates  of  the  established  educational  order,  undertook  to 
hold  the  new  plan  and  its  advocates  up  to  ridicule.  Being  ad- 
mitted to  the  debate  they  persisted  in  hurling  at  the  speakers  a 
volley  of  abstract  and  classical  questions  thinking  to  reveal  the 
ignorance  of  the  men  w^ho  sought  to  establish  this  new  uni- 
versity, styled  industrial.  Turner  arose  and  answered  the  ques- 
tions with  a  dignity  and  courtesy  entirely  lacking  in  those  who 
asked  them.  When  they  had  ceased  to  question,  he  in  his  turn 
questioned  them  upon  the  practical  affairs  of  the  day  and  then 
indeed  an  ignorance  truly  amazing  was  revealed.  Having  re- 
duced them  to  utter  confusion  he  frankly  told  them  what  he 
thought  of  their  behavior  as  invited  guests.  They  were  glad 
to  make  a  hasty  and  unceremonious  exit  !^ 

His  plan  was  widely  read  and  had  a  decided  influence  in 
other  states.  In  1853  he  wrote:  ''Our  friends  in  New  York 
have  already  reprinted  our  remarks — without  honoring  them 
with  quotation  marks — and  thus,  with  our  stolen  thunder 
aroused  their  industrial  population  and  called  for  munificent 
endowments  for  an  industrial  university.  She  has  already  her 
fundsj  and  her  university  is  in  full  blast  and  now  calling  upon 
her  people  on  this  basis  for  a  second  munificent  endowment  for 
the  same  end. 

"Michigan  many  years  ago  established  a  State  Agricul- 
tural College  but  she  has  never  made  any  effort  for  Agricul- 
tural colleges  outside  the  boundaries  of  her  own  state.  "^° 

During  the  years  that  Turner  was  carrying  on  his  campaign 
for  industrial  education  he  was  active  in  other  public  affairs. 
In  1846  Dorothy  Dix  came  to  Jacksonville  to  investigate 
the  condition  of  the  insane  in  that  part  of  Illinois.  She  wit- 
nessed barbaric  and  ignorant  treatment  of  this  unfortunate 
class  and  at  the  next  session  of  the  legislature  she  went  before 
it  and  told  what  she  had  seen. 


*Eelated  by  close  friends  and  co-workers  of  Turner 
"Prom  address  ' '  Millennium  of  Labor. ' ' 


Men  WJio  Led  135 

Her  accounts  aroused  Turner  who  immediately  set  to  work 
to  procure  more  humane  treatment  for  the  insane.  In  1847  an 
appropriation  was  made  for  the  founding  of  a  state  insane 
asylum.  On  February  24,  1851,  Turner  was  appointed  upon 
the  board  of  trustees,  which  consisted  of  nine  members.  Loyalty 
and  vigorous  honor  marked  Turner's  course  upon  the  board  and 
one  might  almost  think  loyalty  and  honor  were  crimes,  so  high 
was  the  price  he  was  called  upon  to  pay  for  them  in  trouble  and 
bitterness. 

At  the  first  state  fair  ever  held  in  Illinois,  Turner  was 
scheduled  to  speak  October  14,  1853,  upon  "the  Millennium  of 
labor."  Men  who  had  become  his  enemies  because  of  his  work 
upon  the  hospital  board  wished  to  prevent  his  delivering  it. 
The  night  before  the  lecture  was  to  be  given  while  he  was  in 
Springfield,  his  barn  in  Jacksonville  was  set  on  fire  in  three 
different  places.  The  fire  spread  to  a  long*  shed  and  conserva- 
tory, just  finished,  which  had  meant  much  in  economy  and 
careful  planning.  All  the  animals,  vehicles,  and  farm  ma- 
chinery with  grain  and  provender  were  burned. 

But  the  incendiary  did  not  accomplish  his  object.  Mr. 
Turner,  ascertaining  that  his  wife  and  children  were  safe,  deliv- 
ered his  address.  It  was  received  with  enthusiasm.  At  the 
conclusion  Dr.  John  A.  Kennicott  of  Chicago,  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  state  agricultural  society,  stepped  to  the  front 
of  the  platform  and  told  the  audience  under  what  circumstances 
the  address  had  been  given.  A  little  box  was  nailed  up  at  the 
entrance  gate  and  all  who  would,  were  given  the  chance  to 
lessen  the  loss.  Over  five  hundred  dollars  were  contributed — 
a  large  sum  in  those  days, — but  the  loss  was  four  thousand ! 

His  enemies,  because  of  his  work  as  a  member  of  the  hos- 
pital board,  m.ade  capital  of  a  certain  speech  of  his  against  the 
"corporation  law,"  under  which  bodies  of  men  were  perpetrat- 
ing hideous  abuses.  In  this  he  said:  "I  am  neither  treating 
laws  nor  the  decisions  of  our  courts  with  undue  disrespect.  An 
unjust  law  or  court  decree  deserves  no  respect  from  any  free- 
man; and  it  shall  have  none  from  me."^^     It  was  principally 

"The  address,  called  the  "Heathen  Chinee  Speech,"  delivered  in  the 
Hall  of  Eepresentatives,  Springfield,  1874. 


136  History  IJnivcrnHy  of  Illinois 

due  to  his  activity  against  the  abuses  of  corporations  that  the 
{Illinois  senate  failed  to  confirm  Turner's  nomination  as  trustee 
of  the  Illinois  hospital  for  the  insane  in  1874  and  his  progressive 
career  on  that  board  was  ended. 

There  is,  in  an  article  by  F.  G.  Gary,  president  of  Farmers 
college,  Ohio,  a  notable  account  of  a  visit  to  Turner.  ''The 
Professor,"  wrote  Gary,  "lives  independently,  thinks  inde- 
pendently, and  is  a  true  philanthropist  with  an  invincible 
repugnance  to  sectaries,  creeds,  and  dogmatisms  in  religion, 
literature  and  politics.  He  is  a  stern  supporter  of  religion,  the 
state  and  education  in  all  their  essential,  purifying  and  exalting 
principles  and  excellencies;  *  *  *  Having  spent  most  of  his 
life  in  teaching,  he  is  one  of  the  first  educators.  He  is  pomolo- 
gist,  horticulturist,  and  farmer,  as  well  as  educator  and  relig- 
ious teacher ;  and  judging  from  what  we  were  permitted  to  see, 
adorns  every  position  he  occupies.  As  a  horticulturist,  his 
fruits,  strawberries,  and  flowers  are  unsurpassed."  After 
comment  upon  his  hedges  and  fruits,  he  continued:  "He  also 
depends  much  upon  trenching  and  underdraining,  for  the  suc- 
cessful rearing  of  fruits  especially.  This  gives  equability  of 
moisture  that  cannot  otherwise  be  secured. 

"Even  the  pieplant  will  yield  fourfold  more  by  this  treat- 
ment than  by  ordinary  culture.  From  four  rows  four  hundred 
feet  long,  thus  cultivated,  the  Professor  gathered  the  enormous 
amount  of  eight  tons  the  past  season. ' ' 

' '  The  Professor  has  invented  a  continuous  drain-tile  made 
of  cement  that  he  constructs  as  he  goes,  forming  it  upon  a  round 
stick,  which,  as  fast  as  it  sets  he  withdraws.  The  cost,  he  says, 
is  but  one  cent  per  foot."^^ 

When  Turner  went  to  Washington  in  1862  to  nurse  his  son 
Charles  who  had  enlisted  in  the  68th  regiment  of  Illinois  volun- 
teers and  had  fallen  ill  of  typhoid,  he  became  a  warm  friend  of 
President  Lincoln.  In  a  letter  to  his  wife  of  September  19, 
1862,  Turner  wrote: 

"He  (Lincoln)  also  told  me  that  his  only  instruction  in  the 
English  language  he  had  from  me,  through  the  Green  brothers 
of  Tellula,  Illinois,  while  they  were  students  of  Illinois  Gollege 

"The  Cincmnatus  for  1858. 


Men  WJio  Led  137 

and  he  was  a  hired  hand  working  for  their  mother  in  the 
harvest  fields.  "^^ 

Again  he  wrote  : 

*'I  had  a  long  talk  with  the  President  at  the  "White  House 
yesterday.  He  is  confined  to  his  room  with  a  lame  ankle.  He 
told  me  he  intended  to  issue  a  proclamation  of  Emancipation 
which  he  said  had  been  prepared  for  weeks  awaiting  the  win- 
ning of  a  Union  victory. 

"With  sly  humor  he  also  told  of  the  visit  of  a  delegation 
who  claimed  to  have  a  message  from  God  that  the  war  would 
not  be  successful  without  the  freeing  of  the  negroes;  to  whom 
he  replied:  'Is  it  not  a  little  strange  that  the  Lord  should  tell 
this  to  you  who  have  so  little  to  do  with  it,  and  not  tell  it  to  me, 
who  has  a  great  deal  ta  do  with  it?'  And  the  sly  old  coon  at 
that  very  moment  had  the  proclamation  in  his  coat  pocket.  "^^ 

When  the  bill  creating  the  land  grant  institutions  was 
passed  in  1862  Turner  felt  that  his  long  struggle  in  the  interests 
of  industrial  education  was  ended.  It  seemed  to  him  that  there 
were  others  better  qualified  to  carry  the  work  forward  and  that 
he  would  thus  bq  eased  of  a  great  burden.  Unfortmiately  for 
him  and  for  the  state  there  were  influential  men  with  mistaken 
ideas  who  would  have  wrecked  the  whole  project  of  an  indus- 
trial university  and  wasted  the  funds  for  its  endo^vment  had  not 
Turner  been  at  hand  to  fight  them,  reluctant  as  he  was  to  do 
so.  The  next  four  of  five  years  were  extremely  unpleasant 
ones  for  Turner  in  his  relation  to  the  proposed  university.  For 
three  years  after  the  opening  of  the  university  he  felt  it  was  a 
complete  failure  and  he  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it. 
A  visit  to  the  institution  in  1870  convinced  him  that  he  was 
mistaken ;  he  saw  that  the  university  was  developing  along  the 
lines  that  he  himself  had  laid  down  and  he  gladly  acknowl- 
edged it. 

Turner  held  beliefs  at  which  some  of  us  may  smile  now. 
As  an  inquirer,  he  consulted  spiritualistic  mediums,  sometimes 
unmasking  them,  sometimes  believing  he  received  true  mes- 
sages.    He  believed  in  mental  telegraphy  and  was  able  to  cite 

"Carriel,  Life  of  Turner,  278. 
"Jbid;  274-275. 


138  History  University  of  Illinois 

dramatic  instances  in  liis  own  life  when  he  believed  he  had 
received  messages  from  those  far  distant. 

He  wrote  much ;  besides  what  has  been  mentioned,  he  pro- 
duced books  or  pamphlets  upon  "The  three  great  races," 
"Universal  law  and  its  opposites,"  and  "Our  republic."  He 
himself  felt  that  the  work  for  w^hich  he  would  be  remembered 
was  his  religious  writing,  * '  The  new  American  church, "  "  The 
Christ  word  versus  the  church  word,"  and  "The  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."  Yet  very  few  read  his  religious  writings  while  on 
every  hand  his  educational  plan  is  shaping  lives. 

He  died  in  1899  at  the  grand  old  age  of  ninety-three.  The 
work  he  did  never  has  been  recognized  in  any  way  commen- 
surate with  its  importance.  Nor  would  he  resent  it,  for  all  he 
asked  was  the  privilege  of  doing  that  work.  Yet  it  would  be 
fitting  if  each  industrial  university  had  its  Turner  hall;  and 
certainly  if  ever  the  central  institution  that  was  part  of  the 
plan  is  established,  the  name  carved  over  the  first  building  to  be 
erected  should  be  the  name  of  Jonathan  Baldwin  Turner. 

BRONSON  MURRAY 

Like  his  associate  in  the  struggle  for  industrial  education 
Bronson  Murray  was  an  eastern  man.  Although  born  to  wealth 
and  station  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he  had  a  natural  affection 
for  the  soil  that  demanded  satisfaction.  His  own  education 
caused  him  to  feel  acutely  the  need  of  education  for  the  farm 
and  the  practical  industries,  hence  he  eagerly  indorsed  Turner's 
plan.  His  most  significant  work  was  as  originator  of  the  Illi- 
nois industrial  league  and  ardent  supporter  of  it;  he  was  also 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Illinois  agricultural  society  and  for 
a  time  corresponding  secretary. 

He  stood  staunchly  by  Turner  through  the  hard  years  of 
conflict,  giving  freely  of  his  money,  labor,  influence,  and  en- 
couragement. "When  Turner's  eyes  failed  and  he  was  com- 
pelled  to  deliver  his  addresses  blindfolded,  he  was  led  to  and 
from  the  halls  by  Bronson  Murray,  tall,  very  straight,  very 
patrician  in  appearance,  called  the  handsomest  man  in  Illinois. 
When  misfortune  came  to  Turner,  it  was  Murray  that  was 


Bronsox  Murray 


Men  Who  Led  139 

always  the  first  to  offer  his  assistance.  After  the  cowardly 
firing  of  Turner's  buildings  in  1853,  Murray  w^rote  offering  to 
send  him  "a  pair  of  good  nags"  to  use  until  spring.  He  adds 
that  while  he  has  no  money  on  hand  he  expects  to  have  $500 
or  $1000  at  any  time  as  the  result]  of  a  land  sale  and  he  courte- 
ously makes  it  clear  that  it  will  be  a  joy  to  him  to  lend  it  to 
Turner.^  ^ 

While  a  modest  man  he  was  too  intelligent  to  underrate 
himself.  When  Turner  spoke  to  him  in  high  terms  of  his 
ability,  he  replied : 

"What  you  say  of  my  ability  is  flattering  to  me.  I  know 
I  have  never  been  stalled  and  that  I  have  braved  experience 
from  the  silken  chambers  whence  I  emanated  to  savage  wilder- 
ness of  Arkansas  ruffians  and  woody  swamps.  That  experience 
trains  a  man  to  know  his  capacity  foi"*  action  tho  it  may  not  to 
judge  how  others  view  him.  "^^ 

There  is  often  in  his  letters  a  serene  practical  philosophy 
that  recalls  Marcus  Aurelius,  as  when  he  says  of  the  discourage- 
ments that  first  met  the  Morrill  bill:  "Perhaps  Morrill's  Bill 
is  too  good  to  make  much  progress  yet.  It  must  first  be  'de- 
spised and  rejected  of  men'  if  it  be  salvation  in  any  respect  for 
the  human  race  or  any  part  of  them.  "^^  Such  a  well  poised 
spirit  was  invaluable  in  the  discouragements  and  bafflements 
that  met  the  new  movement. 

In  regard  to  his  early  life  it  is  possible  fortunately  to  quote 
his  own  words:  "In  the  year  1817,"  wrote  Mr.  Murray,  "in 
the  city  of  New  York,  my  paternal  grandfather,  John  Boyles 
Murray,  was  the  owner  of  two  four-story  basement  houses, 
Nos.  43  and  45  Barclay  street,  which  he  had  built  on  two  lots 
leased  from  Columbia  College.  Mrs.  Okill  kept  a  ladies  board- 
ing school  at  No.  43,  leased  from  my  grandfather  who  occupied 
with  his  family.  No.  45.  Here  I  was  born  on  the  15th  of  April 
of  that  year,  my  parents  then  temporarily  residing  there. "^^ 

^^Murray  to  Turner,  October  29,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts. 

"Letter  of  October  29,  1853. 

"Murray  to  Turner,  March  11,  1858,  Turner  manuscripts. 

^^"Autobiography  of  Bronson  Murray"  down  to  about  1840,  loaned  by 
his  son,  James  B.  Murray  of  Yonkers,  New  York,  to  whose  courtesy  the 
author  is  indebted  also  for  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Murray's  later  life.  Words  of 
Bronson  Murray  that  are  quoted  are  from  the  Autobiography. 


140  History  University  of  Illinois 

Mr.  Murray's  father,  James  B.  Murray,  was  a  prominent 
army  officer,  a  Colonel  of  a  regiment  of  artillery  in  the  War  of 
1812,  a  man  who  had  traveled  widely  and  was  a  friend  of  many 
of  the  leading  statesmen  and  diplomats  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Ttiese  facts  explain  an  incident  related  by  Mr.  Murray 
of  his  early  experience :  "I  remember  my  father  taking  me  by 
the  hand  one  day  in  1824  and  walking  down  to  a  Hudson  river 
pier  near  the  Battery,  and,  with  a  large  number  of  persons, 
boarding  a  steamboat,  I  think  it  was  called  the  Bellona,  and  I 
think  Commodore  Vanderbilt  was  its  Captain.  I  was  told  we 
were  going  to  meet  General  LaFayette  and  bring  him  to  New 
York  from  Amboy. "  A  painful  accident  that  occurred  of  a 
sailor  having  his  arms  blown  off  obscured  in  the  young  boy's 
mind  any  recollections  of  the  noted  Frenchman. 

The  account  of  his  early  education  shows  how  he  acquired 
not  only  a  dislike  to  methods  then  employed  in  teaching,  but  to 
the  "dead  literature"  the  teachers  endeavored  to  drive  in. 
After  referring  to  an  incident  of  November  4,  1825,  when  he 
went  with  his  father  to  witness  the  parade  and  procession  on 
land  and  water  in  honor  of  the  opening  of  the  Erie  canal,  the 
' '  marriage  of  the  waters  "  as  it  was  called,  he  wrote  further : 

"Shortly  after  that  I  was  sent  to  boarding  school  at 
Jamaica,  Long  Island.  Here  I  remained  for  two  years  and  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  fever  and  ague,  together  with  the 
rudiments  of  education,  enforced  dexterously  with  a  flat  ruler, 
by  the  learned  teacher,  on  the  prominent  part  of  the  person  of 
the  boy  who  was  laying  face  downward  over  the  edge  of  the 
platform  while  his  feet  were  on  the  floor.  Principal  Eigen- 
broght  allowed  no  other  master  to  administer  flaggelation,  and 
he  seems  to  have  fancied  that  the  dead  languages  could  be 
incorporated  by  that  operation  into  the  vulnerable  part  of  a 
recreant,  who  could  not  receive  it  intellectually  otherwise,  for 
I  distinctly  remember  he  would  point  with  his  rule  at  one  boy 
in  the  class  before  him  and  order  him  to  conjugate  a  Latin 
verb,  and  then,  while  the  boy  was  conjugating,  the  ruler  would 
be  brought  with  a  smarting  smash  upon  the  rotund  muscle 
below,  a  pair  of  little  heels  would  perform  acrobatic  motions  in 
the  air;  the  ruler  would  point  at  the  next  aspirant  for  dead 


Men  Who  Led  141 

literature  in  the  class  who  would  begin  declining  a  Latin  noun. 
The  ruler  would  descend  hitting  its  former  mark,  the  heels 
flying  again  in  the  air,  the  ruler  again  pointed  to  the  class  and 
the  operation  again  be  repeated  until  a  sufficient  number  of 
blows  had  been  administered  when  the  young  recreant  would 
be  released  with  no  increase  to  his  knowledge  of  Latin  but  a 
supposed  sufficiency  of  an  improvement  in  scholarship."  No 
wonder  that  in  later  years  he  cared  little  whether  classics  were 
ever  taught  in  the  new  proposed  industrial  university.^  ^ 

Li  1832  Mr.  Murray  entered  Columbia  college  as  a  fresh- 
man. He  remained  there  for  two  terms.  During  this  period 
his  father  required  him  to  work  in  a  carpenter's  shop  and  later 
to  attend  lectures  on  civil  engineering.  In  1834  his  father  gave 
him  three  dollars  and  started  him  out  to  work  as  a  rodman  for 
an  engineering  party  working  on  the  Morris  canal  from 
Newark  to  Jersey  City.  Thus  began  his  professional  life  of 
civil  engineer  which  lasted  some  ten  years.  He  worked  in  var- 
ious places  on  numerous  jobs  from  New  York  to  Michigan. 
The  experiences  of  these  years  in  the  newly  developing  west 
gave  him  a  confidence  and  a  poise  that  were  striking  character- 
istics throughout  all  the  remaining  years  of  his  life. 

The  panic  of  1837,  and  the  resulting  financial  depressions 
during  the  subsequent  years,  having  destroyed  all  prospects  of 
the  early  resumption  of  railroad  construction  and  of  public 
works  and  thereby  his  immediate  outlook  as  a  civil  engineer, 
Murray  decided  to  go  west  and  settle  on  some  1,600  acres  of 
land  owned  by  his  father.  Therefore  in  1844  he  went  out  to 
Chicago,  bought  equipment  and  began  farming.^o  In  1847  he 
returned  to  New  York  state  and  in  June  of  that  year  married 
Miss  Anna  E.  Peyton,  daughter  of  Colonel  Rowzce  Peyton  of 
Richmond,  Virginia,  who  had  moved  to  Geneva,  New  York. 
Returning  with  his  bride  by  stage  coach  to  Chicago,  they  went 
then  by  canal  boat  to  Ottawa  and  then  by  team  to  his  farm  at 
Farm  Ridge,  ten  miles  south  of  town.     "While  living  on  this 

"See  Murray's  ''Suggestions  for  a  basis  of  an  Illinois  Industrial  Uni- 
vovsity, ' '  paragraph  1,  in  appendix  p.  435. 

-"A  receipted  bill  for  a  horse  and  wagon  bought  in  Chicago  shows  that 
he  paid  the  munificent  sum  of  twelve  dollars  and  some  cents  for  them. 


142  History  University  of  Illinois 

farm  he  became  interested  in  the  movement  for  industrial  uni- 
versities. Here  he  frequently  entertained  Turner,  Rutherford, 
and  others  of  his  friends. 

"Being  a  firm  believer  in  the  future  of  Illinois  farm  lands, 
he  put  all  he  could  raise  into  Government  land  warrants  which 
he  located  in  LaSalle  and  later  in  Livingston  County.  He  then 
sold  as  many  of  the  lands  as  the  farmers  and  settlers  wanted 
(often  entering  for  them  lands  they  desired),  and  retaining 
the  balance,  he  later  had  them  broken  up  and  put  under  culti- 
vation, and  they  became  the  support  of  his  family  and  himself 
for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

"He  took  Professor  Turner's  view  of  the  value  of  the  osage 
orange  for  hedge  and  fencing  purposes,  and  along  the  lines  of 
those  lands  which  he  retained  in  Livingston  County,  he  had 
osage  orange  set  out  and  cultivated  with  great  care, — over  30 
miles  of  it, — and  so  far  ahead  of  time  that  when  the  lands  were 
ready  for  improvement,  the  hedge  furnished  almost  continuous 
fences.  The  hedges  grew  so  luxuriantly  as  to  cut  off  the 
breezes  from  the  roads  and  therefore  had  to  be  trimmed  down. 
Some  of  their  stumps  today  measure  a  foot  in  diameter." 

"About  1855  he  moved  from  Farm  Ridge  to  Ottawa,  Illi- 
nois, into  a  house  he  bought  of  Professor  Charruaud  on  Rose 
Hill,  just  North  of  town,  and  there  had  furniture  for  the  parlor 
sent  on  from  one  of  the  best  makers  in  New  York. ' ' 

"He  was  a  strong  anti-slavery  man  from  the  very  begin- 
ning, a  personal  friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  whom  he  warmly 
supported  and  he  also  favored  the  underground  railroad,  with 
which  Capt.  William  Strawn  of  Odell  had  some  connection." 

"In  the  fall  of  1858  he  left  that  house  at  Ottawa  and  moved 
East  to  his  father's  country  house  at  Greenfield  Hill,  near 
Fairfield,  Conn.,  where  he  remained  that  winter.  The  house 
was  not  fitted  nor  heated  for  winter.  The  coldest  day  that 
winter, — so  cold  that  all  the  children  had  to  be  kept  in  bed  to 
keep  them  warm, — he  drove  to  Bridgeport,  four  miles  away, 
in  an  open  wagon  to  buy  and  bring  back  a  stove  for  the  hall,  to 
keep  them  warm ;  and  so  bitter  was  the  day,  that  he  met  only 
one  other  person  out  on  the  road.  But  he  brought  the  stove 
back  with  him. 


Men  WJio  Led  143 

"In  the  spring  of  1859  he  moved  to  Fairfield,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1861,  to  Stamford,  Conn.,  for  better  school  facilities  for 
the  younger  children. 

"About  1863  he  moved  to  New  York  and  about  1866  to 
Newport,  Khode  Island. 

"In  the  fall  of  1868  he  moved  back  to  New  York  City, 
where  he  bought  for  his  wife,  with  the  proceeds  of  her  dower 
section,  at  the  West, — recently  sold, — a  house  in  which  they 
both  lived  quietly  down  to  the  time  of  their  death.  In  summer, 
when  his  wife  and  family  went  to  some  place  in  the  country, 
they  could  hardly  ever  persuade  him  to  leave  with  them,  as  he 
said  he  preferred  the  run  of  the  house  with  the  air  circulating 
through  it,  and  bathing  facilities,  to  a  cramped  room  in  some 
country  hotel  or  boarding  house. 

"About  1879  he  again  took  charge  of  his  lands  at  the  west 
which  his  oldest  son  had  meantime  had  almost  entirely  broken 
up,  ditched  and  rented  out;  and  thereafter  for  a  number  of 
years,  he  insisted  on  going  West  and  spending  his  summer  at 
Odell  and  Pontiac,  Illinois,  to  look  after  his  lands,  and  in  winter 
returned  to  New  York." 

"In  1904  his  wife  died,  and  as  all  his  children  were  married, 
they  persuaded  him,  about  a  year  later,  to  have  an  attendant, 
who  most  kindly  and  faithfully  took  care  of  him  during  the  six 
remaining  years  of  his  life.  Her  thoughtful  and  efficient  care 
and  judicious  management  undoubtedly  prolonged  his  life  sev- 
eral years.  He  died  on  January  10th,  1911,  at  the  ripe  old  age 
of  93  years,  the  same  age  at  which  his  faithful  friend  Turner 
had  died. 

"He  always  retained  a  lively  interest  in  the  University  of 
Illinois,  down  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

"He  never  held  public  office,  his  father,  who  had  had  some 
experience  along  that  line,  having  filled,  among  other  offices, 
that  of  President  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  New  York  City 
during  the  cholera  epidemic,  when  a  chain  had  to  be  stretched 
across  the  city  at  Canal  street  to  prevent  communication  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  people 
sprinkled  red  pepper  in  their  stockings  to  escape  the  dire  de- 


144  nisfori/  Viiivcrsihj  of  Illinuis 

stroyer, — having  warned  him  on  his  death  bed,  against  accept- 
ing pnblic  office. 

"He  was  survived  by  five  children,  James  B.,  living  at 
Yonkers,  N.  Y. ;  Caroline  M.,  who  mai-ried  Lucius  K.  "Wilmcrd- 
ing  of  New  York ;  Olivia  'M.,  who  mai-ried  the  late  W.  Bayard 
Cutting  of  the  same  city;  John  Archibald,  lawyer,  of  that  city; 
and  Annie  M.,  wife  of  C.  Wickliffe  Yulee,  also  of  that  city. 

"He  was  a  devoted  father, — sacrificing  his  comfort,  ease, 
means  and  even  life  for  the  best  interests  of  his  children,  who 
also  Avere  devoted  to  him, whose  company  and  companionship  they 
ever  enjoyed,  and  who  were  only  too  pleased  Avhen  they  could 
persuade  him  to  leave  his  home  in  the  city  and  visit  them  in 
their  country  places, — which  however,  they  seldom  succeeded 
in  doing.  "21 

DR.  JOHN  A.  KENNICOTT 

Dr.  John  A.  Kennicott  was  associated  with  J.  B.  Turner 
through  the  most  trying  years  of  the  campaign  that  ended  in 
the  establishment  of  the  land  grant  system  of  industrial  univer- 
sities. 

He  died  in  1863,  when  but  a  little  over  sixty  years  of  age. 
He  had  lived  to  see  the  federal  government  make,  what  to  him 
appeared  a  munificent  grant  to  agricultural  and  mechanical 
education  and  to  know  that  Illinois  accepted  her  share ;  but 
to  see  the  institution  itself  with  young  men  thronging  its  halls 
was  denied  him. 

Kennicott  was  a  good  fighter ;  unafraid,  direct,  impulsive, 
often  tactless,  with  a  native  simplicity  which  no  experience  in 
the  duplicity  and  double-dealing  that  he  saw  practiced  in  polit- 
ical life,  was  ever  able  to  cloud.  When  he  fought  he  fought 
with  pleasure,  but  he  was  always  a  generous  foe.  During  his 
residence  in  New  Orleans  he  was  once  challenged  to  a  duel. 
He  accepted  heartily,  chose  pistols  as  the  weapons  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  looked  forward  to  the  affair  with  such  interest  that 
his  opponent  made  an  apology. 

Kennicott  had  scant  opportunities  for  education  in  early 
3''0uth  but  he  instinctively  gave  a  close  attention  to  flowers  and 

"From  biographic<al  sketch  by  James  B.  Murray. 


John  A.  Kexnicott 


Men  Who  Led  145 

things  that  grow  on  the  earth  and  his  affection  gave  high  value 
to  his  observations.  As  soon  as  opportunity  to  study  appeared, 
he  seized  it  with  avidity  and  thanks  to  this  habit  of  close  obser- 
vation his  mastery  of  botany  was  swift.  At  twenty-one  he 
delivered  a  series  of  lectures  on  botany  in  Buffalo  that  were  the 
subject  of  wide  and  favorable  comment.^^ 

He  studied  and  practiced  medicine.  In  New  Orleans  he 
taught,  wrote,  and  edited  a  paper,  the  Louisiana  Recorder.  In 
March  1836  he  moved  to  Illinois  where  he  practised  medicine, 
with  unusual  success  for  some  twenty-seven  years.  When  he 
first  came  to  Illinois  it  was  a  new  country  and  there  was  much 
sickness.  He  rode  a  circuit  of  thirty  miles,  often  tiring  five 
horses  in  twenty-four  hours.  Not  only  did  he  have  to  go  on 
horseback  but  frequently  it  was  over  ''impossible"  roads, 
through  frightful  floods  and  storms,  bridges  washed  away  and 
mud  beyond  anything  one  can  now  imagine.  Besides  these 
physical  difficulties  he  was  obliged  to  undergo  great  mental 
strain  for  there  were  no  ''specialists"  and  the  physician  had  to 
be  a  surgeon  as  well. 

In  the  midst  of  the  labors  of  his  profession  he  found  time 
for  horticulture  to  which  he  was  devoted.  Besides  J.  B,  Turner 
he  had  among  his  earnest  friends  A.  J.  and  Charles  Downing, 
leading  eastern  horticulturists;  David  Thomas,  a  Quaker,  a 
wonderful  florist  and  botanist ;  and  other  leading  scientists  and 
editors.  Then,  too,  he  was  for  three  years  horticultural  editor 
of  the  Prairie  Farmer.  He  gave  himself  freely  to  public  affairs. 
Among  other  offices  of  various  societies  and  associations  which 
he  held,  may  be  mentioned  the  office  of  secretary  of  the  state 
agricultural  society  and  president  of  the  state  horticultural 
society. 

Of  him  J.  Ambrose  Wight,  editor  of  the  Prairie  Farmer 
wrote :  "His  love  of  nature  was  genuine  and  he  had  a  quick  eye 
and  a  true  appreciation  of  whatever  was  beautiful  in  it — fruit, 
flowers,  birds,  and  beautiful  trees  were  all  his  friends.  He  knew 
how  to  commune  with  them  better  than  any  man  I  have  ever 
known. "23     At  Kennicott's  home  "The  Grove"  in  Cook  county 

^^Prairie  Farmer,  June  4,  1863. 
^Prairie  Farmer,  June  20,  1863. 


146  History  University  of  Illinois 

all  the  flowers  and  fruits  that  endure  this  climate  bloomed  and 
bore. 

He  was  loyal,  affectionate,  and  generous.  After  reading 
Turner's  plan  for  the  first  time,  nothing  could  have  been  more 
boyishly  enthusiastic  than  his  letter  to  its  author: 

"The  Grove-Northfield,  Cook  County,  Illinois. 

January  16,  1852. 
My  Dear  Friend : — 

One  hour  ago  the  mail  brought  the  pamphlet  containing 
your  ''Plan  for  an  Industrial  University."  It  is  great — it  is 
God-like — It  is  the  best  thought  of  the  19th  Century  and  should 
be  written  in  letters  of  gold  on  the  front  of  every  capitol,  and  on 
the  walls  of  every  college  in  the  land — and  should  be  read,  as  his 
bible  by  every  son  of  labor  in  happy  Illinois.  I  am  grateful.  I 
thank  you  with  my  whole  soul.  I  am  as  glad  and  as  proud  of  this 
whole  production,  as  if  it  had  come  from  my  ovm  feeble  pen. 
God  bless  you — and  he  will. 

* '  But  I  am  too  full  of  thoughts  for  words.  You  have  but  to 
command  me  in  any  capacity  and  I  shall  follow  your  lead  in  per- 
fecting this  beneficent  work.  Go  on  and  prosper.  I  think  you 
cannot  faU. 

"Proudly  and  affectionately  your  friend 

John  A.  Kennicott."24 

Again  in  wi-iting  a  pleasant  acknowledgement  of  some  praise 
that  Turner  had  given  him,  he  said:  "You  and  I  have  labored 
for  others  if  not  successfully,  certainly  unselfishly;  and  if  we 
cannot  appreciate  and  approve  the  efforts  of  each  other  I  don't 
know  who  will.  The  world  is  slow  to  find  out  the  genuine  phil- 
anthropist and  seldom  discovers  his  true  worth  until  death  has 
rendered  all  human  appreciation  personally  worthless.  You  may 
live  to  see  your  fame — I  probably  shall  go  down  to  the  grave 
without  having  accomplished  anything  worthy  of  a  great  name — 
for  I  feel  that  I  am  already  worn  out. '  '^^ 

-^Turner  manuscripts. 

"December  20,  1853,  Turner  manuscripts. 


Men  WJio  Led  147 

DR.  REUBEN  C.  RUTHERFORD 

Dr.  R.  C.  Rutherford  was  a  professor  of  physiology  with  a 
gift  for  public  speaking.  He  possessed  a  lively  personality,  the 
power  of  direct,  convincing  expression,  plenty  of  humor,  the 
peculiar  gift  of  establishing  the  sense  of  intimacy  between  plat- 
form and  audience,  and  the  quick  wit  to  turn  adverse  arguments  to 
his  own  advantage.  He  loved  an  audience  with  the  love  that  made 
him  willing  to  work  desperately  to  win  one.  In  a  letter  to 
Turner  he  announces  that  he  has  presented  the  cause  of  indus- 
trial education  to  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch  in  northern  Illinois 
and  "  'got'  all  that  I  got  to  hear.  I  have  gained  great  confidence 
in  my  persuasive  powers  since  I  have  taken  the  Dutch.  I  despair 
of  moving  nobody  after  this. '  '^^ 

His  noteworthy  work  for  industrial  education  was  as  lec- 
turer for  the  league,  in  the  years  1853-1854.  He  traveled  over 
the  state  acquainting  people  with  the  need  for  industrial  educa- 
tion and  he  won  practically  all  who  were  not  hopelessly 
prejudiced  against  it.  He  was  a  master  hand  at  leading  people 
to  put  themselves  on  record  and  permitted  none  to  leave  the  hall 
without  signing  as  a  member  of  the  industrial  league  if  he  could 
help  it.  In  the  towns  he  visited  he  appointed  committees  of 
citizens  to  keep  up  interest  in  the  league  and  to  let  no  subscrip- 
tion fall  into  arrears. 

He  kept  in  close  touch  with  Turner,  writing  to  him  with 
great  frequency;  usually  in  a  spirit  of  jubilant  success.  The 
smallness  of  an  audience  never  seemed  to  dampen  his  enthu- 
siasm ;  he  merely  set  to  work  to  convince  it  so  thoroughly  that 
he  would  obtain  one  hundred  per  cent  for  members  of  the 
league.  The  fee  he  did  not  insist  upon  having  paid  at  the  time 
of  joining.  He  knew  rural  human  nature  too  well  for  that; 
"In  country  towns,"  he  wrote  Turner,  ''they  never  have  any 
change  in  their  pockets.  I  do  not  insist  upon  paying  down, 
knowing  that  those  without  stones  will  withhold  their 
names.  "27  This  often  caused  him  pecuniary  embarrassment 
for  he  collected  his  salary  of  $600  a  year  from  the  fees  paid  him. 

^° April  30,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts. 

^'February  16,  1854,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


148  II  is  I  or  !f  Univcrsily  of  Illinois 

Nor  was  lack  of  money  his  only  limitation.  He  interested 
people  so  readily  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  keep  on  hand  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  the  league's  literature.  Upon  one  occasion, 
Turner  who  had  been  with  him  in  Joliet  foi'got  his  carpet-bag. 
"i  have  got  your  carpet-bag,"  Dr.  Rutherford  wrote  him,  "and 
I'll  just  go  unlock  it  and  take  out  the  reports.  I'll  swear  to 
taking  out  nothing  but  the  books — so  if  anything  else  is  missing 
you  can  charge  it  over  to  prior  thieves.  By  the  way  it  is  a  good 
plan  for  a  man  who  is  going  to  cultivate  the  practice  of  losing 
his  carpet-bag  to  attach  the  key  to  the  outside.  It  is  a  sure  way 
to  save  the  lock." 

He  joked  constantly  and  not  always  delicately.  He  re- 
ferred to  Ninian  Edwards  who  disagreed  Avith  him  as  "Ninn3\" 
In  a  postscript  to  a  letter  he  tells  Turner  he  dreamed  of  thunder 
a  few  nights  ago  and  wondered  if  it  was  only  the  faint  rumble 
of  Turner's  snoring  at  Jacksonville.^^ 

At  first  acquaintance  Rutherford  was  distasteful  to  the 
dignified  Bronson  Murray.  But  in  time  Murray  prized  the 
man  highly,  and  the  two  became  fast,  friends.  Their  friendship 
endured  after  the  fight  for  industrial  education  was  won  and 
both  had  left  Illinois  for  New  York. 

The  leading  facts  of  his  life  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 
He  was  born  at  Troy,  New  York,  September  29,  1823,  but  grew 
up  in  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire;  received  a  degree  in  law 
when  quite  young,  but  afterwards  fitted  himself  as  a  lecturer 
on  physiology  and  hygiene,  upon  which  he  lectured  extensively 
in  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  other  states  after  coming  west  in 
1849.  In  1854-1855  he  lectured  for  the  Illinois  industrial  league 
after  which  in  1856,  he  located  in  Quincy,  where  he  resided 
some  thirty  years.  During  the  civil  war  he  served  as  the  first 
commissary  of  subsistence  at  Cairo,  then  was  associated  with 
the  state  quartermaster's  department,  finally  entering  the 
secret  service  of  the  War  Department  in  which  he  remained 
until  1867,  retiring  with  rank  of  brevet  Brigadier-General.  In 
1886  General  Rutherford  removed  to  New  York  City  where  he 
renewed  his  friendship  with  Bronson  Murray  and  where  he 
died,  June  24,  1895. 

*"*February  16,  1854,  Turner  Manuscripts. 


Men  Who  Led 


J.  B.  Turner  L.  L.  Bullock 

J.    S.    MOKRILL  W.    A.    PEXNELL  RALPH    WARE 

J.  p.  Reyn-olds  Jesse  W.  Fell 


Men  Wlio  Led  149 

LEONARD  LORING  BULLOCK 

Leonard  Loriiig  Bullock  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Buel 
institute  when  it  was  organized  in  1846  and  one  of  the  com- 
mittee that  drew  up  its  constitution;  during  the  first  three 
years  of  the  society's  existence  he  was  recording  secretary  and 
during  the  remaining  seven  years  before  his  death,  in  1856,  he 
was  twice  elected  president  and  three  times  chosen  vice  pres- 
ident. 

It  was  from  the  bafflement  and  disappointment  of  daily  life 
that  Mr.  Bullock  came  to  feel  acutely  the  need  of  industrial 
education.  He  came  as  a  pioneer  to  LaSalle  county,  Illinois, 
and  engaged  in  the  work  of  farming  and  stock  raising.  His 
mind  worked  alertly,  precisely.  He  saw  the  needs  of  the 
farmer  and  felt  keenly  the  limitations  imposed  upon  him  by  his 
ignorance.  He  read  the  farm  papers  eagerly,  he  searched  agri- 
cultural literature  but  he  found  himself  constantly  confronted 
with  problems  the  solution  of  which  baffled  him.  It  was  for 
this  reason  that  he  threw  himself  ardently  into  the  work  of 
industrial  education. 

It  was  during  his  first  term  as  president  of  Buel  institute 
that  congress  was  petitioned  in  1852  to  establish  an  agricul- 
tural bureau.  He  had  long  felt  the  need  of  such  a  bureau  main- 
tained by  the  federal  government  which  should  carry  on 
practical  experimentation  and  publish  the  reports  of  results  as 
guides  for  the  farmer.  As  president  of  the  institute  his  name 
headed  the  petition. 

In  an  article  in  the  Prairie  Farmer  of  June,  1852,  he  ex- 
pressed himself  upon  the  need  of  establishing  industrial  educa- 
tion, as  Turner  proposed  it,  without  delay.  The  communication 
is  a  reply  to  an  editorial  in  the  March  number  of  the  Prairie 
Farmer  which  cautioned  against  haste  and  hinted  that  it  would 
be  wise  to  let  Massachusetts  or  New  York  take  the  initiative.  ' '  I 
have  but  little  hopes  of  witnessing  the  experiment  in  Massa- 
chusetts," he  wrote,  "and  should  it  be  made  it  would  but  illy 
test  its  practicability  here.  Here  things  are  quite  different;  we 
have  a  soil  and  climate  unsurpassed,  but  a  system  of  agriculture 
ill-adapted  to  it.     The  improvement  of  our  farm  implements 


150  History  University  of  Illinois 

and  machines,  and  architecture,  open  a  wide  field  for  mechan- 
ical skill  and  ingenuity  where  knowledge  will  be  sure  to  meet  a 
reward.  These  things  are  evident  to  every  reflecting  mind;  all 
who  soundly  weigh  the  matter  favor  the  scheme,  and  if  wisely 
managed,  it  cannot  prove  a  failure.  As  you  say  the  difficulties 
now  standing  in  the  way  will  vanish  as  we  progress,  but  not  if 
we  stand  still. 

"The  fact  that  thousands  of  our  citizens  are  driven  by 
necessity  or  ignorance  from  their  homes  while  owning  quarters 
and  sections  of  land  to  endure  all  the  hardships  of  a  California 
journey,  while  their  farms  under  a  proper  system  of  culture 
might  have  been  made  to  roll  in  wealth  as  fast  as  it  would  have 
been  good  for  them  to  receive,  admonishes  us  that  something 
must  be  done  for  mental  culture,  before  our  soil  will  receive 
its  proper  culture." 

Mr.  Bullock  himself  was  a  man  of  education.  In  1834  at 
the  age  of  twenty  he  matriculated  in  Brown  university  but  was 
compelled  to  cease  study  before  he  took  his  degree  because  of 
trouble  with  his  eyes.  He  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a  man 
of  determination  and  vision,  and  he  gave  of  his  best  that  the 
world  might  be  made  better  for  the  young  man, 

WILLIAM  A.  PENNELL 

William  A.  Pennell  was  president  of  the  Buel  institute  at 
the  time  when  Jonathan  B.  Turner  unfolded  his  famous  Gran- 
ville plan.  Also  he  was  for  a  number  of  years  an  associate 
director  of  the  Industrial  league  of  Illinois.  How  he  was  re- 
garded by  the  agi'iculturists  is  shown  in  a  letter  to  him  written 
by  Turner  January  27,  1864.  In  this  letter  Turner  requested 
Pennell  to  write  to  the  Prairie  Farmer  giving  a  report  of  the 
earlier  work  of  the  Industrial  league  which  people  had  almost 
forgotten.  "You  could  speak  of  it  more  fully  and  at  many 
points  more  explicitly  than  I  could,"  he  wrote,  "without  even 
any  apparent  egotism  or  danger  because  you  were  not  at  that 
time  so  deeply  involved  in  the  transient  contents  of  the  hour. 
You  are  almost  the  only  live  one  among  the  *old  wheel  horses' 
from  whom  I  am  still  permitted  to  hear.     Alas  how  many  of 


Men  Who  Led  151 

them  are  gone  either  to  the  war  or  to  their  graves."  Turner 
urged  him  to  be  active  in  the  matter  of  locating  the  university 
now  that  the  coveted  fund  had  been  obtained.  ''I  hope  you 
and  your  people  will  not  be  weary  in  well  doing ;  you  first  laid 
the  egg ;  why  should  you  not  raise  the  eagle  ? ' ' 

Mr.  Pennell  was  of  sturdy  pioneer  mold.  Born  in  Vermont 
in  1815  his  education  was  received  in  the  school  of  hard  work 
helped  out  by  a  short  term  at  the  Bennington  academy.^^  He 
was  but  twenty-four  when  he  came  to  Granville  to  make  his 
home  in  Illinois.  Already  the  town  had  a  church  and  an 
academy.  Mr.  Pennell  brought  to  his  new  home  the  best  pos- 
sible capital  for  the  day — industry,  intelligence,  a  warm  and 
broad  humanity  that  eventually  made  him  the  friend  and  coun- 
selor of  the  entire  community.  He  worked  as  a  carpenter  when 
he  first  came  to  Granville ;  brought  his  parents  there  from  Ver- 
mont, married,  and  only  left,  when,  in  1863,  he  removed  to 
Normal  to  educate  his  six  daughters.  Here  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Jesse  W.  Fell  with  whom  he  was  a  co-worker  in 
all  public  improvements. 

Pennell,  like  all  of  the  agriculturists,  was  disappointed 
when  Champaign  county  obtained  the  location  of  the  new  insti- 
tution for  he  had  worked  with  Fell  to  obtain  it  for  Normal ;  yet 
he  did  not  for  this  reason  lose  interest  in  the  cause  of  industrial 
education  nor  belief  in  its  success.  He  died  in  1893,  too  soon 
to  see  the  university  in  the  position  of  importance  it  obtained 
in  later  years. 

JOHN  P.  REYNOLDS 

John  P.  Reynolds  fought  valiantly  with  Turner  in  the 
cause  of  industrial  education.  From  1861  to  1867  he  was 
prominent  in  the  work  and  with  his  power  of  forcible  expres- 
sion and  sound  judgment  a  great  help.  He  was  an  Ohio  man, 
graduated  from  Miami  university  in  1838  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  As  early  as  1861  he  was  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Illinois  agricultural  society.  In  an  article  published  in  the 
Prairie  Farmer  January  2,  1864,  is  a  paragraph  that  shows  that 
he,  like  the  other  agriculturists,  resented  the  fact  that  the  old 

^"Notes  made  by  his  daughter,  Jane  Pennell  Carter. 


152  History  University  of  Illinois 

learning  iiusistccl  upon  an  tuiual  place  with  the  new  in  the  indus- 
trial university  to  be  organized. 

"1  suppose  it  will  be  clearly  the  province  and  duty  of  the 
Legislature  to  require  the  organization  of  certain  departments 
— Practical  Agriculture,  Practical  Mechanics,  Military  Tactics, 
and,  (whether  some  wily  old  fogy  had  it  inserted  in  the  act  of 
Congress  or  not)  Departments  for  teaching  to  some  extent 
other  scientific  and  classical  studies. ' ' 

During  the  years  that  Reynolds  was  corresponding  secre- 
tary of  the  Illinois  state  agricultural  society  he  was  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Illinois  state  sanitary  commission.  He  gave  freely 
of  his  time  to  public  affairs — in  1867  he  was  commissioner  to 
the  Paris  exposition  and  in  1876  to  the  centennial  exposition  in 
Philadelphia,  in  1891  he  was  chosen  director-in-chicf  of  the 
Illinois  world's  fair  commission.  At  the  close  of  the  fair  he 
practically  retired  from  public  life.  From  1877  to  1881  he  was 
chief  grain  inspector  for  Illinois.  He  died  in  Chicago,  March 
25,  1912. 

RALPH  WARE 

Ralph  Ware  came  from  Massachusetts  to  Illinois  in  1834, 
settling  near  Granville.  Public  spirit  and  hearty  interest  in  all 
that  stood  for  community  advancement  characterized  the  Ware 
family.  It  was  members  of  this  family,  still  in  Massachusetts, 
who  built  the  church  where  Jonathan  Turner  delivered  his  fa- 
mous Granville  address ;  it  was  here  that  the  friends  of  agricul- 
tural and  industrial  education  often  met.  As  a  member  of  the 
Bucl  institute  Ware  had  frequent  opportunity  to  aid  indus- 
trial education. 

Mr.  Ware  died  in  middle  life,  a  farmer  of  influence  and 
wealth. 

JESSE  W.  FELL 

Jesse  W.  Fell  (1808-1887)  came  to  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
from  Pennsylvania  in  the  fall  of  1832.  His  personal  effects  he 
carried  in  a  carpet  bag,  his  fortune  was  under  the  'oroad  brim 
of  his  quaker  hat.  He  was  Bloomington 's  first  lawyer  but  as 
the  citizens  of  that  day  and  district  spent  little  upon  the  law, 
he  soon  looked  about  for  a  more  remunerative  field.    He  found 


MenWJioLed  153 

it  in  real  estate  where  he  invested  so  shrewdly  that  by  1836  he 
was  accounted  a  rich  man.  He  was  driven  back  to  the  law  for  a 
few  years  by  the  financial  troubles  of  1837,  but  in  1844  he  left 
it  definitely. 

He  was  by  nature  an  upbuilder  of  desolate  places.  He  could 
look  over  the  prairie  and  in  his  imagination  see  the  steel  rails,  the 
spires,  the  big  smoke  belching  chimneys  that  meant  humanity's 
progress.  He  felt  the  worth  of  the  broad  acres.  He  know  that, 
trapped  in  the  unplowed  bosom  of  the  prairies,  was  wealth  that 
would  magnificently  support  an  energetic  people.  He  devoted 
himself  earnestly  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  corner  of  the  earth 
that  he  had  chosen  for  home.  With  his  own  hands  he  planted 
trees,  for  the  prairie  to  him  seemed  to  beg  for  trees,  by  his  own 
efforts  he  furthered  every  movement  that  promised  a  better  com- 
munity life.  It  was  through  his  shrewdness  and  labor  that 
Bloomington  obtained  the  normal  school,  through  his  hard  work 
that  McLean  county  made  the  largest  bid  for  the  industrial  uni- 
versity. As  Frances  Milton  Morehouse  in  ''The  Life  of  Jesse 
Fell ' '  has  given  a  detailed  account  of  his  activities,  nothing  will 
be  attempted  here,  beyond  this  brief  acknowledgement  that  he 
deseives  a  place  among  the  men  who  led. 

JUSTIN  SMITH  MORRILL 

The  agriculturists  in  entrusting  their  plan  for  industrial 
education  to  Justin  S.  Morrill  made  a  wise  choice.  Morrill  was 
emphatically  a  man  of  the  people,  one  who  through  his  own 
experience  knew  the  darkness  of  ignorance  in  which  the  work 
of  the  world  was  accomplished. 

His  life  record  is  remarkable.  He  was  a  plain  shop-keeper 
and  farmer  for  the  first  forty-four  years  of  his  life,  yet  when 
he  died  December  27,  1898,  he  had  spent  half  his  life  in  congress 
having  been  six  times  elected  to  the  house  and  six  times  to  the 
senate.  He  came  from  Vermont,  a  state  that  sent  eminent 
lawyers  and  jurists  to  congress,  yet  he,  a  man  of  scant  schooling, 
the  son  of  a  blacksmith,  had  at  his  death  been  in  public  service 
for  a  longer  consecutive  period  than  any  man  in  the  history  of 
the  country.     He  was  not  an  orator  yet  he  was  heard  more 


154  History  University  of  Illinois 

gladly  than  the  orators  for  he  never  let  delight  in  words  obscure 
his  vision  nor  egotism  limit  his  wisdom. 

The  task  of  pushing  the  bill  for  a  system  of  industrial  uni- 
versities through  congress  was  one  that  appealed  to  his  under- 
standing. He  knew  the  need  of  bringing  science  to  the  soil,  of 
forcing  the  goddess  of  learning  down  from  her  pedestal  and 
exchanging  her  flowing  toga  for  a  gingham  apron.  The  defeats 
that  met  the  bill  were  not  defeats  for  I\Iorrill,  they  Avere  only 
lessons  in  the  way  to  victory. 

Under  our  system  of  government  where  every  citizen  is  a 
sovereign  and  where  the  farmer,  the  artisan,  the  wage  earner 
are  the  dictators  of  sentiment,  it  is  of  vital  moment  that  this 
majority  shall  not  be  at  the  mercy  of  political  demagogues  but 
shall  be  guided  by  the  conservatism  and  common  sense  that  can 
only  follow  upon  education.  The  plan  for  a  system  of  land 
grant  universities,  therefore,  appealed  to  Morrill  as  intensely 
patriotic.  It  had  for  its  object  the  elevation  of  a  large  body  of 
citizenship  to  a  higher  plane.  What  was  of  equal  importance 
the  elevation  of  this  body  v/ould  not  detach  its  members  from 
the  masses  of  the  people  as  had  been  the  result  of  education 
heretofore,  but  would  make  them  more  than  ever  in  sympathy 
with  the  toilers.  Morrill  had  the  vision  to  see  the  great  signifi- 
cance of  industrial  education. 

Besides  the  bill  establishing  land  grant  universities  Morrill 
introduced  the  Morrill  tariff  act  in  the  house  during  the  closing 
days  of  President  Buchanan 's  administration.  ' '  Previous  to  this 
act  American  industries  were  paralyzed,  American  labor  was  a 
wandering  tramp  in  the  land,  American  credit  was  so  low  that 
Government  paper  was  sold  at  a  discount  of  12  per  cent."^" 
The  enactment  of  the  Morrill  tariff  act  changed  the  entire  in- 
dustrial situation:  it  put  new  life  into  American  industry  and 
restored  the  credit  of  the  Government.  As  Webster  said  of 
Hamilton,  he  "smote  the  rock  of  the  national  resources  and 
abundant  streams  of  revenue  gushed  forth. ' ' 

Accounts  of  the  life  of  Justin  Morrill  and  interpretations 
of  his  work  may  be  found  in  various  publications.  On  April 
14,  1910,  centenary  exercises  were  held  by  the  State  of  Vermont 
'"Memorial  address  delivered  by  Mr.  Powers  of  Vermont. 


Men  WJio  Led  155 

at  Montpelier  in  honor  of  the  birth  of  Morrill.  .  On  that 
occasion  the  governor  of  the  state  of  Vermont,  a  United  States 
senator,  and  other  well  known  men  paid  homage  to  the  virtues 
of  the  man  and  his  abilities  as  a  statesman.^i 


"These  and  other  addresses  have  been  published  and  for  this  reason  it 
has  seemed  unnecessary  to  give  more  extended  account  of  Morrill  in  this 
volume. 


15G  History  UnivcrsHij  of  Illinois 


CHAPTER  VII 

SEMINARY  AND  COLLEGE  FUNDS  AND  VARIOUS  AT- 
TEMPTS TO  ESTABLISH  AN  AGRICULTURAL 
COLLEGE  OR  STATE  UNIVERSITY 
IN  ILLINOIS 

Federal  land  grants  for  the  purpose  of  higher  education 
have  come  to  be  considered  an  integral  part  of  the  national 
policy.  A  study  of  the  motives  prompting  these  grants  reveals 
the  unflattering  truth  that,  contrary  to  the  general  belief,  fed- 
eral aid  to  higher  education  was  not  the  result  of  the  beneficent 
foresight  of  our  first  congressmen,  but  was,  in  fact,  the  outcome 
of  a  rather  clever  bargain  between  a  private  land  company 
and  an  unwilling  congress,  forced  to  yield  to  its  purchasers' 
demands  through  sheer  necessity.  In  other  words,  the  prece- 
dents for  land  grants  by  the  federal  government  for  higher 
educational  purposes  had  their  origin  in  the  land  sales  of  1787.^ 
This  subject  of  public  land  disposal  was  closely  connected  with 
questions  of  government  with  which  the  congress  was  then 
struggling. 

The  temporary  government  for  the  northwest  territory  which 
had  been  provided  in  1784  had  proved  inadequate  in  manj^  waj'^s, 
and  therefore  in  1786  plans  for  a  new  and  permanent  arrange- 
ment were  brought  before  congress.  Discussion  on  the  bill  lagged 
for  the  reason  that  the  enthusiasm  of  congress  had  been  lessened 
somewhat  by  the  inactivity  of  land  sales  and  the  consequent 
effect  on  immigration.  The  question,  however,  took  on  new 
force  and  significance  when  a  memorial  Avas  presented  to  con- 
gress from  a  number  of  influential  New  England  men  connected 
with  the  Ohio  land  company.  The  originators  of  this  organiza- 
tion Avcrc  Generals  Rufus  Putnam  and  Benjamin  Tupper  both 
of  whom  had  been  interested  for  some  time  in  the  questions  of 

*Treat,  The  National  Land  System,  265-270  and  Knight,  Land  Grant 
for  Education  in  the  Northwest  Territory  uphold  this  view.  See  also  Amer- 
ican Historical  Association,  Papers,  vol.  1,  No.  3,  p.  17,  18. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  157 

western  immigration  and  public  grants  of  land.  They  issued  a 
call  through  the  newspapers  of  New  England,  inviting  delegates 
to  meet  at  the  Bunch  of  Grapes  tavern,  Boston,  on  March  1, 
1786.  At  this  meeting  the  Ohio  company  Avas  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  purchasing  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  Ohio  territory, 
and  settling  it  with  good,  New  England  stock.  During  the  year, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  one-fourth  of  the  stock 
of  the  company,  was  subscribed.  This  sum  was  considered  suffi- 
cient to  insure  the  success  of  the  company;  therefore  the  stock- 
holders at  a  meeting  in  March,  1787,  elected  Samuel  Holden 
Parsons,  Manasseh  Cutler,  and  Rufus  Putnam  directors,  with 
full  power  to  negotiate  with  congress  for  the  purchase  of  the 
desired  lands. ^  Parsons  drew  up  a  memorial  in  which  he  set 
forth  the  desires  and  proposals  of  the  company.  It  was  pre- 
sented to  congress  in  May,  and  was  immediately  referred  to  a 
special  committee.'^ 

This  memorial  of  the  Ohio  company  and  the  energetic  work 
of  Cutler,  who  reached  New  York  on  the  fifth  of  July,  moved 
congress  to  take  up  again  the  discussion  of  the  bill  for  a  perma- 
nent organization  of  the  western  territory.  Aroused  by  the 
prospect  of  a  large  sale  if  a  satisfactory  form  of  government 
should  be  provided,  congress  speedily  took  up  the  measure  and 
referred  it  to  a  new  committee.  The  presence  of  Cutler,  together 
with  the  assurance  that  if  his  plans  matured,  immigration  into 
the  western  territory  was  practically  certain,  gave  new  life  to 
the  delayed  bill,  which  finally  passed  on  the  thirteenth  of  July, 
and  became  the  governmental  instrument  of  the  northwest  ter- 
ritory. 

This  important  work  disposed  of,  congress  was  free  to  con- 
sider Cutler's  plans  for  a  purchase  of  land.  The  committee  in 
charge  reported  favorably  on  the  terms  suggested,  which  among 
other  things,  provided  for  a  reservation  of  four  townships  for 
a  seminary  of  learning  within  the  purchase,  but  congress  con- 
sidered this  too  much  and  consequently  omitted  mention  of  it  in 
an  ordinance  reported  July  19th.  Cutler,  however,  strongly  felt 
the  desirability  of  a  provision  of  this  sort,  and  therefore  sub- 

-Cutlcr,  Life  Journal  and  Correspondence,  1:    ISO,  192. 
'Bancroft,  Histonj  of  the  Formation  of  the  Constitution,  2:  1G9. 


158  History  University  of  Illinois 

mitted  a  new  offer  which  provided,  besides  lot  sixteen  for  main- 
tenance of  schools  and  lot  twenty-nine  for  purposes  of  religion, 
for  "two  townships  near  the  centre  of  the  second  specified  tract 
which  comprehends  the  purchase  amounting  to  the  first-men- 
tioned million  of  dollars,  and  of  good  land  to  be  also  given  by 
congress  for  the  support  of  a  literary  institution,  to  be  applied 
to  the  intended  object  by  the  legislature  of  the  state.  "■*  Congress 
again  objected  but  when  Cutler  expressed  his  intention  of  leav- 
ing New  York,  of  giving  up  his  plan  of  buying  land  from  con- 
gress and  of  purchasing  from  one  of  the  states  instead,  members 
of  congress  prevailed  on  him  to  remain  and  promised  to  meet 
his  demands.^  In  making  this  decision  they  took  into  account 
the  desirability  of  opening  up  Avestern  lands  and  of  stimulating 
immigration,  the  government 's  need  for  the  money  which  vrould 
result  from  the  sale  of  this  six  million  five  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land  and  especially  the  fear  that  Cutler  would  fulfill  his 
threat  and  buy  from  the  older  states.  In  view  of  these  possibil- 
ities congress  passed  an  ordinance  on  July  23,  1787,  in  which  the 
Board  of  the  treasury  was  ordered  to  contract  with  the  Ohio 
company  for  the  land  desired.  The  resulting  contract  secured 
to  the  Ohio  company  two  townships  within  the  purchase  for  the 
perpetual  support  of  a  seminary  of  learning  and  it  is  the  first 
provision  made  by  the  federal  government  for  that  purpose. 
The  credit  of  this  important  precedent  would  seem  to  belong 
entirely  to  the  first  board  of  directors  of  the  Ohio  company,  and 
especially  to  their  able  lobbyist,  Manasseh  Cutler.  The  far- 
reaching  significance  of  the  precedent  may  only  be  realized  by 
a  consideration  of  it  in  the  light  of  its  subsequent  importance 
to  higher  education  in  the  different  states. 

The  federal  grant  of  two  to^wnships  thus  secured  for  the 
Ohio  company  was  handed  over  to  the  state  of  Ohio  on  her  ad- 

••At  this  time  Cutler  "nas  prevailed  upon  by  certain  influential  men 
to  include  secretly  in  his  purchase  offer  the  much  larger  offer  of  another 
company.  In  this  way  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  the  Ohio 
company  and  an  option  of  five  million  acres  for  the  Sciota  company  were 
secured.     Bancroft,  History  of  the  Formation  of  the  Constitution,  2:  436. 

''Cutler,  Life  Journal  and  Correspondence,  1:  303-305. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  159 

mission  to  the  union  in  1802.*^  The  methods  used  for  securing 
similar  grants  for  other  new  states  differed  from  time  to  time 
to  fit  conditions,  but  whatever  the  method  used  in  making  the 
grant,  or  whatever  the  amount  of  land  obtained,  the  fact  of 
federal  aid  to  higher  education  through  land  grants  remained 
constant. 

The  history  of  the  Illinois  seminary  fund  itself,  dates  back 
to  1804  when  Indiana  territory  was  divided  into  three  land  dis- 
tricts, in  each  of  which  one  township  was  reserved  for  a  seminary 
of  learning  J  As  the  population  increased  these  three  land  dis- 
tricts, Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  and  Detroit,  were  formed  into  the 
territories  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Michigan,  and  the  townships 
set  aside  in  each  of  the  land  districts  were  likewise  reserved  in 
the  territorial  enactments.  On  the  admission  of  Illinois  into 
the  union  in  1818,  the  land  reserved  for  the  Kaskaskia  land  dis- 
trict in  1804  and  one  additional  township  were  granted  the  new 
state  and  the  control  of  both  tracts  was  turned  over  to  the  state 
legislature.^  Thus  seventy-two  sections  to  be  devoted  to  higher 
education,  were  granted  to  Illinois  by  the  federal  government 
and  the  fund  accruing  from  this  source  came  to  be  known  as 
the  seminary  fund. 

The  township  first  set  aside  for  Illinois  was  ToAvnship  5  N., 
Range  1  W.  3d  P.  M.  in  Fayette  county.  In  1821  the  auditor  was 
instructed  to  lease  this  land  but,  situated  as  it  was  in  the  Okaw 
bottoms,  a  large  part  covered  with  lakes  and  swamps,  it  is  little 
wonder  that  he  found  this  order  impossible  of  execution.^  In 
1823  the  general  assembly,  profiting  by  their  experience  with  the 
first  township,  asked  the  president  that  the  second  township  be 

'When  Ohio  was  admitted  she  received  three  townships  from  the  federal 
government,  two  of  which  had  been  given  the  Ohio  company  in  1787  and 
one  of  which  was  given  in  fulfillment  of  the  Symmes  contract.  This  how- 
ever was  considered  an  exception  and  did  not  affect  the  precedent  estab- 
lished in  1787. 

^Annals  of  Congress,  1803-1804,  p.  1288. 

^Enabling  act  in  Annals  of  Congress,  1818,  p.  2546.  "Fourth.  That 
thirty-six  sections,  or  one  entire  township,  which  shall  be  designated  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  together  with  the  one  heretofore  reserved 
for  that  purpose,  shall  be  reserved  for  the  use  of  a  seminary  of  learning, 
and  vested  in  the  Legislature  of  said  State,  to  be  appropriated  solely  to  the 
use  of  such  seminary  by  the  said  Legislature." 

^Laws  of  1821  p.  60. 


160  Ilislvrjj  Univcrsihi  of  JU'niois 

located  in  separate  tracts.  Tliis  rc(iuest  was  granted  and  com- 
missioners were  appoinlcd  for  the  purpose  and  the  lands  were 
selected. 

By  1829  Illinois  finances  were  in  such  a  condition  that  the 
legislators  felt  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  any  expediency  to 
avoid  an  unpopular  rise  in  tax  rates  to  meet  the  ever  increasing 
debts  and  the  current  expenses  of  the  government.^"  One  such 
expedient  Avas  to  sell  the  seminary  lands  and  borrow  the  money 
for  the  state.  A  series  of  acts  during  the  seventh  and  eighth 
general  assemblies  made  possible  the  diverting  of  this  fund  from 
its  original  purpose  to  a  cause  which  in  no  way  could  be  sanc- 
tioned by  the  donors.  January  12,  1829,  the  auditor  received 
instractions  from  the  assembly  to  advertise  the  lands  already 
located  and  to  sell  them  to  the  highest  bidder,  the  minimum 
price  being  fixed  at  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre ;  the  same 
act  provided  a  board  composed  of  the  governor,  auditor,  attorney 
general  and  secretary  of  state  to  invest  the  fund  accruing  from 
the  sale.  On  January  17,  1829,  another  act  was  passed  by  w^hich 
the  governor  was  authorized  to  borrow  this  fund  for  the  state 
at  six  percent  interest,  the  latter  to  be  annually  added  to  the 
principal  until  the  entire  amount  was  repaid.  In  this  way  the 
state  was  under  no  obligation  to  meet  even  the  interest.^^ 

Late  in  December,  1829,  a  memorial  was  presented  to  con- 
gress asking  that  Illinois  be  allowed  to  exchange  her  valueless 
township  in  Fayette  county,  for  an  equal  quantity  of  land  to 
be  located  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  since,  ''This  towaiship 
now  is,  and  ever  will  continue  to  be,  totally  valueless  for  a  sem- 
inary of  learning."  This  petition  w'as  granted  March  2,  1831, 
and  Illinois  selected  new  lands,  but  so  unseemly  w^as  the  haste 
to  realize  on  these  grants  that  even  before  congress  had  acted 
in  the  matter  the  general  assembly  passed  a  law  providing  for 

the  sale  of  the  new  land  on  the  same  terms  as  the  other  thirty-six 
sections.  ^2 

Thus  the  Illinois  state  legislature  responded  to  the  trust 
imposed  on  her  by  the  national  government.     Seventy-tw^o  sec- 

"Ford,  History  of  Illinois,  79  ff. 
'^Laws  of  1829,  p.  158,  101. 

^American  State  Tapers,  Public  Lands,  6:   14.  U.  S.  Acts  and  Besolu- 
tions,  1831,  p.  75,  Lmvs  of  1831,  p.  171. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  161 

tions  of  land,  designated  for  a  particular  purpose  and  capable 
of  furnishing  an  adequate  fund  for  the  establishment  of  a  sem- 
inal y  of  learning  were  thrown  on  an  already  overstocked  market 
and  all  but  four  and  one  half  sections  were  sold.  Of  this  amount 
all  but  three  tracts  went  at  the  minimum  price  as  might  have  been 
expected  since  there  was  comparatively  little  demand  for  land 
at  that  time  and  hence  little  competition  at  the  auction.  In 
all  43,200  acres  were  sold,  the  proceeds  of  which  amounted  to 
only  $59,838.72. 

By  legislative  act,  it  was  provided  on  February  7,  1835, 
that  the  interest  on  the  seminary  fund  should  be  loaned  annually 
to  the  common  schools.  This  arrangement  continued  until  1857 
when  the  interest  on  the  fund  was  finally  turned  over  to  the 
state  normal  university  at  Normal.^^  On  February  21,  1861, 
the  four  and  one  half  sections  which  had  not  been  sold  were  given 
to  the  Illinois  agricultural  college  at  Irvington.  This  land  was 
sold  and  brought  $58,000,  but  the  legislature  of  1871  was  forced 
to  bring  suit  against  the  college  because  of  improper  management 
of  the  fund  and  part  of  the  land  was  recovered  and  sold  at  auc- 
tion in  1879.1^  By  legislative  act  of  1873  the  entire  interest  on 
this  fund  was  given  to  the  state  normal  university,  but  this  was 
changed  by  an  act  of  1877  so  that  the  income  v/as  divided  be- 
tween the  two  normal  schools.  ^^ 

The  utter  wastefulness  of  the  entire  transaction  is  apparent 
at  once.  In  the  first  place  the  land  was  sold  nearly  three  decades 
before  there  was  any  legitimate  reason  for  establishing  a  fund, 
for  there  was  no  institution  of  learning  on  which  to  expend  the 
money  nor  was  there  any  particular  demand  to  establish  one. 
Then,  too,  by  selling  the  land  in  large  quantities  at  a  time  when 

""Section  2.  The  Commissioners  of  the  School  fund  of  the  State, 
shall  annually  loan  to  the  school  fund  the  interest  of  the  College  and  Sem- 
inary funds,  to  be  added  to  the  interest  of  the  school  and  township  funds, 
for  distribution  among  the  several  schools  in  the  State  established  under 
this  law."  Lau-s  of  1835,  p.  22-24.  In  1839  one  fourth  of  one  per  cent 
of  the  interest  on  this  as  well  as  the  college  and  school  fund  were  given 
annually  to  the  Asylum  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  at  Jacksonville.  Laws  of 
1839,  p.  164.    Laws  of  1857,  p.  300. 

"The  Irvington  attempt  is  fully  described  on  p.  173. 

"Lfltt-s  of  1861,  p.  9-11;  Laws  of  1871-1872,  p.  790;  Laws  of  1873, 
p.  23. 


162  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  other  public  lands  had  not  yet  been  exhausted,  the  price 
necessarily  was  exceedingly  low  and  the  potentiality  of  the  con- 
gi'essional  gift  was  in  no  sense  realized.  The  loss  resulting  from 
this  policy  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  four  and  one  half  sec- 
tions which  were  held  until  1861  brought  $58,000  as  compared 
with  $59,838.72,  the  proceeds  of  sixty-seven  and  one  half  sections 
by  the  former  sale ;  at  this  rate  if  the  land  had  been  held  until  it 
was  needed,  there  might  easily  have  been  a  million-dollar  fund 
at  the  present  time.  Finally,  the  loaning  of  the  income  to  the 
school  fund  for  twenty-two  years  was  another  serious  blunder, 
for  neither  income  nor  interest  on  the  income  has  ever  been 
collected;  the  fund  lost  by  this  action  of  the  legislature  about 
seventy  thousand  dollars. 

On  the  whole  the  seminary  fund  in  the  states  of  the  north- 
west territory  has  had  an  unfortunate  history:  some  sacrifice 
of  the  potential  principle  from  premature  sales  or  unfortunate 
location  of  lands  characterizes  them  all ;  a  loss  of  a  portion  of  the 
principal  or  interest  through  misplaced  loans  or  unsound  in- 
vestments characterizes  some;  but  Illinois  holds  a  unique  place 
in  that  she  excelled  her  sister  states  in  all  of  these  particulars, 
and  to  the  charge  of  mismanagement  and  waste,  may  well  be 
added  the  charge  of  an  unjustified  diversion  of  the  fund  from  its 
legitimate  use. 

Another  fund  derived  from  federal  grants  and  intended  to 
aid  the  cause  of  higher  education,  was  the  so-called  college  or 
university  fund.  This  fund,  in  the  case  of  Illinois,  represents 
a  notable  departure  from  preceding  practice.  When  Ohio  in 
1802  and  Indiana  in  1816  entered  the  union  as  new  states  they 
were  each  granted  five  percent  of  the  proceeds  from  the  future 
sales  of  the  public  lands  within  the  state  for  the  building  of  roads 
and  canals.  When  the  enabling  act,  which  permitted  Illinois 
territory  to  take  her  place  in  the  family  of  states,  was  before 
congress,  Nathaniel  Pope,  then  territorial  delegate  from  Illinois, 
moved  to  amend  the  bill  by  striking  out  that  portion  which  ap- 
propriated the  five  percent  fund  to  the  construction  of  roads  and 
canals  and  to  insert  a  clause  by  which  only  two  percent  might 
be  used  for  that  purpose  while  the  remaining  three  percent 
should  be  appropriated  for  the  purposes  of  education.     This 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  163 

amendment  passed  unanimously  and  when  this  bill  became  a  law- 
April  18,  1818,  it  contained  the  following  proposition  which  was 
later  accepted  by  the  territorial  convention :  ' '  Third.  That  five 
percent  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the  lands  lying  within  such  State, 
and  which  shall  be  sold  by  Congress,  from  and  after  the  first 
day  of  January,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  nineteen,  after 
deducting  all  expenses  incident  to  the  same,  shall  be  reserved  for 
the  purposes  following,  viz :  two-fifths  to  be  disbursed,  under  the 
direction  of  Congress,  in  making  roads  leading  to  the  State ;  the 
residue  to  be  appropriated,  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  for 
the  encouragement  of  learning,  of  which  one-sixth  part  shall  be 
exclusively  bestowed  on  a  college  or  university,  "^^  This  one- 
sixth  part  of  the  three  per  cent  which  was  set  aside  for  educa- 
tional purposes  came  to  be  Imown  as  the  university  or  college 
fund. 

Congress  had  stipulated  that  this  money  should  be  admin- 
istered by  the  state  subject  to  congressional  approval;  conse- 
quently to  provide  for  the  execution  of  the  grant,  an  act  was 
passed  by  congress  December  12,  1820,  by  which  these  pajonents 
should  be  made  to  the  state  in  return  for  which  the  latter  should 
render  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  an  annual  report  setting 
forth  the  disposition  of  the  funds.  The  following  year  the  state 
treasurer  was  authorized  by  the  legislature  to  deposit  the  pro- 
ceeds from  the  three  per  cent  grant,  which  included  both  the 
common  school  fund  and  the  university  fund,  in  the  state  bank 
at  six  per  cent  interest.  By  act  of  1829,  the  state  legislature 
authorized  the  governor  to  borrow  the  three  per  cent  fund  as 
well  as  the  seminary  fund  to  relieve  the  financial  embarrassment 
of  the  state.^'^  The  state  was  to  pay  six  per  cent  interest  but 
since  this  was  merely  added  to  the  original  debt  each  year  and 
was  not  to  be  collected  until  the  entire  amount  was  repaid  it 
entailed  no  pecuniary  obligation  and  came  to  be  a  mere  matter 
of  bookkeeping.  Naturally,  under  this  arrangement,  the  state 
failed  to  make  reports  to  the  secretaiy  of  the  treasury  as  it  had 
agreed  to  do ;  and  therefore  further  pajinents  were  refused  until 

^^Anjials  of  Congress,  1818,  p.  2546,  1678. 

^'•Annals  of  Congress,  1820-1821,  p. 1790;  Laivs  of  1821,  p.  92;  Laws 
of  1829,  p.  118. 


161  Illstorn  i'nivcr.siljj  of  lUinois 

on  January  31,  1831,  the  difficulty  was  settled  by  act  of  congress 
repealing  that  part  of  the  law  that  made  these  reports  necessary. 

In  1835  the  state  legislature  ordered  that  the  interest  up  to 
January  1,  1834,  should  be  added  to  the  principal  and  that 
beginning  with  1835  the  six  per  cent  interest  on  the  two  funds 
should  be  distri]}utcd  among  the  counties  for  the  common  school 
purposes.i^  This  fund  increased  until  September  28,  1863,  when 
the  last  of  the  public  lands  of  Illinois  were  sold.  At  that  time 
the  university  fund  amounted  to  $118,790.89  to  which  $37,822.43 
interest  was  added,  making  in  all  $156,613.32  which  yields  an 
annual  interest  of  $9,396.80. 

By  law  of  February  18,  1857,  authorizing  the  establishment 
of  a  normal  university  the  interest  on  the  college  and  seminary 
funds  Avas  appropriated  to  the  support  of  the  university.  Actu- 
ally, however,  there  were  two  portions  still  missing.  The  one- 
fourth  of  one  per  cent  given  to  the  institution  for  the  deaf  and 
dumb  at  Jacksonville  was  not  added  until  1873.  The  four  and 
one-half  sections  given  to  Irvington  were  a  total  loss,  for  the  prin- 
cipal of  these  funds  remains  today  as  it  was  in  1863.  Final  dis- 
position of  the  interest  of  the  two  funds  was  made  in  1877  by 
giving  one  half  to  the  normal  school  at  Normal  and  the  other  half 
to  the  normal  school  at  Carbondale. 

From  1833  to  1863  various  unsuccessful  attempts  were 
made  in  Illinois  to  establish  a  state  university  or  an  agricultural 
college.  Sometimes  the  plan  involved  aid  from  the  state  to 
support  the  institution  and  again  the  proposed  institution  took 
only  the  name  of  "state  university,"  or  "Illinois  state  uni- 
versity," or  "Illinois  agricultural  college"  without  asking  for 
funds  from  the  state,  perhaps,  but  Avith  the  hope,  more  or  less 
concealed,  of  being  adopted  sometime  by  the  state. 

The  mismanagement  and  misappropriation  of  educational 
funds  by  the  legislature  during  this  period  were  so  frequent 
as  to  become  a  habit.  Unfortunately  the  people  back  of  many 
of  the  educational  ventures  of  the  time  were  no  better.  Too  often 
they  revealed  themselves  not  only  as  narrow  and  selfish  but  even 
as  dishonest  and  dishonorable.  And  yet  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  it  was  the  same  period  that  produced  the  splendid 

^LawTof  1835,  p.  22 ;  minois  ScJiool  Report,  1881-1882,  CXXXIV. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  165 

group  of  men  that  labored  so  long  and  so  successfully  to  bring 
into  being  the  great  system  of  agricultural  colleges  and  univer- 
sities, the  origin  of  which  has  been  described  in  previous  chap- 
ters. 

The  first  attempt  to  establish  a  state  university  in  Illinois 
was  made  at  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  1833,  when  a  bill 
to  incorporate  an  institution  under  the  name  of  the  Illinois 
university  was  introduced  in  the  house  on  February  14,  by  Peter 
Cartwright,  of  Sangamon  county.  ^^ 

The  bill  provided  for  a  university  ' '  for  the  education  of  the 
youth  in  the  English,  learned  and  foreign  languages,  the  useful 
sciences,  and  literature;"  for  a  board  of  ten  trustees;  and  for 
the  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  purchase  lands 
and  to  erect  and  furnish  buildings.  For  the  support  of  the 
university  the  interest  arising  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of 
the  seminary  land  and  from  the  college  fund  was  to  be  appropri- 
ated. The  trustees  were  instructed  to  locate  the  institution  in 
or  adjacent  to  the  tovv-n  of  Springfield. -"^ 

The  bill  failed  for  the  follov/ing  reasons :  in  naming  Spring- 
field for  the  location  of  the  proposed  university  it  awakened 
the  jealousy  of  Vandalia,  a  rival  candidate  for  the  state  house, 
and  that  city,  therefore,  took  occasion  to  stir  up  opposition  of 
other  cities;  it  aroused  the  fecrs  of  the  friends  of  the  colleges, 
Shurtleff,  McKendree,  and  Illinois  college,  for  they  thought  that 
a  richly  endowed  state  university  would  greatly  overshadow  their 
institutions;  finally,  and  most  important  of  all,  it  would  have 
been  very  inconvenient  for  the  state  to  restore  those  misappro- 
priated trust  funds.2i 

In  December,  1834,  Governor  Duncan  in  his  message  recom- 
mended that  a  state  university  be  established,  but  no  action  was 
taken.  For  more  than  sixteen  yeai's  there  was  very  little  attempt 
and  no  organized  effort  to  establish  a  state  institution  of  higher 

^''House  Journal,  1<S33,  1  session,  533.  The  opposition  to  the  bill  Tvas 
led  by  Zadok  Casey.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  man  who  introduced 
in  the  house  this  plan  for  a  full-fledged  university  was  the  famous  trav- 
eling Methodist  minister,  Peter  Cartwright.  He  was  not  a  college  man 
himself,  and  was  frequently  quite  scornful  of  those  who  were. 

="The  bill  is  given  in  full  below,  p.  525. 

-^IlUnois  School  Hcport,  1886-1888,  CXVITI. 


166  History  University  of  Illinois 

learning.  The  existing  colleges  manifested  their  desires  and 
willingness  to  divide  up  the  college  and  seminary  funds,  but  the 
legislature  thwarted  these  schemes  by  the  shrewd  maneuver  of 
loaning  the  interest  from  session  to  session  to  the  common  school 
fund. 

The  next  legislative  attempt  was  made  in  1851.  For  several 
years  the  need  of  a  normal  school  had  been  much  discussed 
through  the  state,  as  well  as  the  propriety  of  devoting  a  portion 
of  the  college  and  seminary  funds  for  its  support.  In  the  leg- 
islature of  1851  a  bill  for  ''An  act  organizing  a  state  university" 
was  introduced  by  Newton  Cloud,  senator  from  Morgan  county. 
It  did  not  provide  for  a  university  in  the  usual  acceptation  of 
the  term ;  but  attempted  to  divide  the  funds  among  the  colleges 
under  a  decentralized  arrangement.  The  governor,  the  secretary 
of  state,  and  the  presidents  of  the  several  colleges  of  the  state 
were  named  as  a  board  of  education  styled  the  ' '  Regents  of  the 
university  of  the  state  of  Illinois;"  and  the  annual  income  of 
the  college  and  seminary  funds  was  to  be  distributed  annually 
among  the  colleges  of  the  state  if  they  fulfilled  certain  conditions ; 
each  college  receiving  a  share  of  the  funds  should  maintain  a 
professorship  of  English  literature  and  normal  instruction  and 
should  appropriate  "at  least  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum 
provided  it  received  so  much  under  this  act,  over  and  above  the 
salary  of  the  professor  of  popular  education,  in  promoting  a 
knowledge  of  agriculture,  chemistry,  botany,  geology,  and  min- 
eralogy. "22  This  bill  passed  the  senate  but  was  later  recon- 
sidered and  tabled. 

At  the  same  session  the  legislature  passed  a  bill  entitled 
"An  act  to  incorporate  the  Farmer's  college  in  Macoupin  county, 
Illinois.  "23  This  bill  was  introduced  by  Thomas  Quick  of  Mon- 
roe county  w^ho  was  later  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
an  agricultural  college  at  Irvington,  and  in  1867  on  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Illinois  industrial  university  at  Urbana.  Five 
trustees  were  designated  who  should  have  power  to  name  others, 
not  to  exceed  fifteen.  The  object  of  the  college,  which  was  to 
be  permanently  located  in  Macoupin  county,  was  to  promote 

-^The  bill  is  printed  below,  p.  531. 

^Laws  of  1851,  p.  181,  see  also  below  p.  529. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  167 

"the  general  interest  of  education,  and  to  qualify  young  men 
to  engage  in  the  several  employments  of  society,  and  to  dis- 
charge honorably  and  usefully  the  various  duties  of  life. ' '  The 
last  clause  of  section  four  of  the  law  indicates  that  there  were 
to  be  departments  for  the  study  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts  when  the  need  of  the  community  demanded.  No  funds  or 
lands  were  given  it  by  the  state ;  these  were  to  be  collected  by  the 
corporation.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  law,  providing  in 
a  way  for  agricultural  education,  was  passed  nine  months  before 
Turner  proposed  his  plan  at  the  Granville  meeting.  Having  no 
organized  force  back  of  it  the  college  never  developed  into  any- 
thing more  than  a  paper  institution. 

In  1852  the  legislature  passed  an  act  creating  an  institution 
to  be  known  as  the  ' '  Illinois  state  university ' '  and  to  be  located 
in  or  near  Springfield,  Illinois.  The  act  was  entitled  "An  act 
to  amend  an  'Act  to  incorporate  a  literary  and  theological  in- 
stitution of  the  Evangelical  church  of  the  far  west,  to  be  located 
in  Hillsboro,  Montgomery  county,  Illinois,'  approved  January 
22,  1847."  This  act  creating  the  "Illinois  state  university" 
was  in  force  June  21,  1852,  and  amended  in  minor  ways  by  an 
act  of  Feb.  3,  1853.  The  amended  act  authorized  the  board  of 
trustees,  the  number  of  which  should  not  exceed  thirtj'-one,  to 
establish  the  university  in  or  near  Springfield  and  to  ' '  establish 
separate  departments  of  the  learned  professions  of  the  sciences 
and  arts,  including,  besides  the  usual  departments  of  theology, 
medicine,  and  law,  a  department  of  mechanical  philosophy  and 
also  of  agriculture,  and  shall  assign  to  each  department  a  compe- 
tent faculty  of  instruction. ' '  It  was  required  that  instructors  in 
the  theological  faculty  should  be  appointed  by  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  synod.  The  bill  did  not  ask  for  an  appropriation  from 
the  state  and  there  was  no  reason  assigned  why  this  denomina- 
tional institution  should  take  the  name  of  the  ' '  Illinois  state  uni- 
versity. ' ' 

The  institution  thus  legally  recognized  had  begun  its  oper- 
ation in  1849,  and  had  issued  its  first  catalog  in  August,  1850. 
Its  early  work  in  Hillsboro,  Montgomery  county  had  been  fairly 
successful,  but  believing  a  better  field  to  be  open  in  Springfield  it 
moved  there  and  changed  the  name  to  the  ' '  Illinois  state  univer- 


168  History  University  of  Illinois 

sity."  I'^nder  its  new  name  it  bejiaii  o])cration8  in  Springfield, 
April,  1852,  in  a  l)uil(ling  i)i'evi()usly  occupied  l)y  the  ]\Iechanies' 
union.  A  family  hy  the  name  of  Enos  gave  the  ground  on  which 
a  new  building  was  erected.  As  originally  designed  it  was  to  be 
of  brick,  four  stories  in  height,  the  main  center  being  seventy  by 
sixty-five  feet  wide  with  wings  on  each  side  forty-one  feet 
wide,  the  whole  to  cost  $35,000.  Only  the  main  center  was  com- 
pleted and  at  a  cost  of  $25,000.  It  was  dedicated  in  1854  in 
the  presence  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  who,  it  is  said,  delivered  an 
oration  on  that  occasion.-*  At  the  first  session,  1852,  there  were 
sevent3'-nine  students  enrolled  and  in  1853-1854  the  number  had 
increased  to  one  hundred  and  sixty. 

After  1858  the  institution  did  not  prosper,  but  struggled 
along  until  1867  when  it  ceased  to  operate  under  the  name  of 
"  university.  "^'"^     The  general  synod  of  the  Lutheran  church, 

^*Among  the  early  students  ^Yas  Robert  Lincoln,  son  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. It  is  reported  that  Robert  did  not  care  much  for  his  studies  but  was 
interested  in  political  discussion  of  the  time,  so  much  interested  in  fact 
that  instead  of  attending  to  his  school  duties  he  left  Springfield  and  followed 
some  of  the  stump  speakers  around  from  place  to  place.  His  father,  learn- 
ing of  this,  called  to  see  what  could  be  done  to  get  his  son  to  attend  school 
regularly. 

="In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  holder  of  a  scholarship  in  this  institution 
wrote  a  few  years  ago  to  the  University  of  Illinois  to  ask  if  the  scholarship 
was  good  in  the  state  university  the  following  copy  of  one  of  those  early 
scholarships  will  be  of  interest.  Thanks  are  due  Mr.  H.  A.  Cress  of  Hills- 
l)oro  for  the  original. 

No.  2.  $300 

CERTIFICATE  OF  SCHOLARSHIP 

In  the 

Illinois  State  University 

KNOW  ALL  MEN  BY  THESE  PRESENTS, 

That  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Illinois  State  University,  for  and  in 
consideration  of  the  sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  in  hand  paid,  the  receipt 
of  which  is  hereby  acknowledged,  do  hereby  grant  and  guarantee  unto 
Absalom  Cress,  of  the  County  of  Montgomery,  and  State  of  Illinois,  his 
heirs  or  assigns,  the  perpetual  privilege  of  sending  one  student  to  the 
Preparatory  or  Collegiate  Department  of  said  University,  for  instruction 
in  any  or  all  the  studies  pertaining  to  either  Department,  without  any 
further  charge  for  tuition. 

IN  TESTIMONY  WHEREOF  said  Board  of  Trustees  have  caused 
this  Certificate  of  Scholarship  to  be  signed  by  the  President  and 
Secretary,  and  their  official  Seal  to  be  attached  thereto  this  first 
day  of  October  A.  D.  18.54. 

John     T.    Stuart,     President 
SEAL  Edmund  Miller,  Secretary 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  169 

under  whose  auspices  it  had  been  established  and  conducted, 
found  it  a  great  financial  burden  and  on  numerous  occasions 
had  offered  it  for  sale.  Finally  in  1873,  under  foreclosure  pro- 
ceedings, it  was  sold  to  the  '  *  Synod  of  Missouri,  Ohio,  and  other 
states."  Since  then  the  building  has  been  used  to  house  a  sem- 
inary. Concordia  theological  seminary,  the  present  occupant 
of  that  old  building  of  1854,  may  be  considered  in  a  way  a 
descendant  of  the  "Illinois  state  university;"  very  certainly  is 
this  true  if  it  still  operates,  as  its  president  thinks,  under  the 
charter  granted  by  the  legislature  in  1853.26 

For  a  decade  after  1853  the  attempts  by  the  state  to  es- 
tablish higher  educational  institutions  were  greatly  influenced 
by  the  industrial  educational  movement  then  in  full  progress  in 
the  state.  The  first  of  these  attempts  was  conducted  by  George 
L.  Lumsden,  a  member  of  the  legislature  and  a  friend  of  Turner 
and  Murray,  who  early  in  1853  introduced  a  bill  to  incorporate 
the  "Industrial  university  of  the  state  of  Illinois."  The  bill 
which  was  referred  to  the  judiciary  committee  in  the  senate  and 
later  reported  and  tabled  as  Lumsden  intended, ^^  contained  the 
following  provisions  as  stated  by  Lumsden  in  a  letter  to  Turner : 
"  *  *  *  My  dear  friend — dismiss  all  your  fears  about  the  Act  of 
Incorporation.  It  is  only  the  first  step  to  getting  on  our  feet 
and  to  having  a  tangible  existence.  See  the  1st  Section.  "Be 
it  enacted  etc.  that  Bronson  Murray,  L.  S.  Pennington,  John 
Gage,  Augustus  C.  French,  L.  W.  Weston,  H.  C.  Johns,  D.  L. 
Gregg,  J.  T.  Little,  D.  Prince,  John  Russell,  James  Davis,  Simeon 
Francis,  W.  F.  M.  Arney,  William  A.  Pennell,  John  A.  Kenni- 
cott,  James  Schoff,  Alext.  Starve,  John  B.  Weber,  and  Joel  A. 
Matteson,  be  and  they  are  hereby  created  a  body  corporate  and 
politic,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  and  maintaining  an  insti- 
tution of  Learning  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  Industrial 
University  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

"2nd  Section  'Said  corporation  shall  be  known  by  the 
style  and  name  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Industrial  Uni- 
versity of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  by  that  name  and  style  re- 

"For  a  history  of  the  institution  see  ' '  Fiinf zig  Jahriges  Jubilaum  des 
Concordia  Seminars  zu  Springfield,  111." 

"See  letter  of  Lumsden  to  Murray,  above  p.  62. 


170  History  University  of  Illinois 

main  and  have  perpetual  succession,  with  power'  etc.  {without 
any  fixed  and  limited  amount  whatever) . 

"3rd  Section — 'The  number  of  persons  constituting  said 
Board  of  Tiiistecs  shall  not  exceed  that  of  one  from  each  Sena- 
torial District  Avithin  this  State,  five  of  whom  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business,  at  any  regular  or  special 
meeting,  duly  notified  and  assembled.'  (This  will  enable  us  to 
have  25  trustees.) 

' '  4th  Section — '  Said  corporation  may  establish  such  depart- 
ments of  Learning,  Science  and  Art,  including  Agricultural, 
Mechanical  and  Anthropologic  Philosophy,  as  may,  in  the  pro- 
gress of  time,  be  deemed  necessary — and  shall  assign  to  each 
department  a  competent  Faculty  of  Instruction.  And  no 
religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  of  those  who  may  constitute 
the  Faculty  or  who  may  become  students  of  such  institution. ' 

"5th  Section — The  Corporation  may  (if  it  be  not  otherwise 
provided  for  by  law)  issue  (Certificates  of  Scholarship),  either 
limited  or  perpetual,  etc. 

"11th  Section — "Provides  that  tlie  Board  of  Trustees  are 
authorized  when  they  shall  have  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars  ($20,000)  to  begin  the  permanent  organization  and  loca- 
tion of  the  aforementioned  University — the  creation  of  the 
Instruction  Fund — provided  for  the  education  of  orphan  chil- 
dren of  both  sexes,  and  for  such  other  purposes  as  the  institu- 
tion may  require  in  a  general  industrial  system  of  education. 

"In  the  Charter,  everything  is  provided  for  that  may  be 
necessary  to  promote  and  advance  Industrial  and  Scientific 
Learning ;  the  establishment  of  a  Normal  Department ;  Branches 
of  the  University  in  District  of  counties,  and  everything  that  may 
be  thought  by  the  Board  to  be  for  "the  general  welfare"  of  the 
cause,  and,  the  best  interest  involved  for  all  future  time. 

"Gov.  Matteson  told  me  today — it  is  all  right.  It  is  but 
laying  the  foundation,  or  marking  out  the  ground  for  the  Nation 
to  found  and  consecrate  a  temple  for  the  sacred  purposes  of 
Education  in  the  things  next  us. 

Yours — Geo.  L,  Lumsden." 

During  the  same  session  of  the  legislature  the  representa- 
tives of  the  colleges  were  busy  in  Springfield  to  effect  a  division 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  171 

of  the  interest  in  the  college  and  seminary  funds  among  the  col- 
leges in  a  manner  similar  to  the  proposal  of  1851.  Their  bill 
which  was  in  the  hands  of  Mr,  ]\loulton,  chairman  of  the  house 
committee  on  education  was  entitled  a  "Bill  for  an  act  for  the 
encouragement  of  practical  and  general  education.  "^^  It  pro- 
vided that  the  annual  income  from  the  college  and  seminary 
funds  was  to  be  divided  among  the  colleges  that  gave  certain  pre- 
scribed courses  and  that  had  an  endowment  of  at  least  $30,000. 
The  bill,  which  was  to  go  into  effect  July  1,  1853,  did  not  pass 
chiefly  on  account  of  the  activity  of  Mr.  Lumsden  whose  letter  to 
Turner  discloses  something  of  the  feeling  of  the  time : 

*  *  Dear  Friend  Turner : 

Such  is  the  splendid  affair  I  have  caught  them  honeyfug- 
gling  with.  I  have  underscored  such  passages  as  give  the  key 
to  the  mystery  of  the  colleges  in  general  and  the  Priests  in 
particular. 

Your  article  will  not  be  needed  here,  as  the  thing  is  crushed 
I  believe,  for  good.  (After  you  have  taken  a  copy  of  tliis  "Bill," 
send  it  hack  to  me  as  I  Jiave  not  retained  any  otJier.)  Through 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  Moulton,  I  have  been  able  to  get  hold  of 
this  thing. 

I  have  written  a  "Bill  for  an  Act  io  incorporate  Industrial 
University  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  for  the  encouragement 
of  Practical  and  general  Education  among  the  people/'  And 
have  a  pretty  popular  and  strong  Board  of  Trustees  to  commence 
organization  and  location  etc.,  when  there  shall  be  $20,000  of 
Money.  To  have  a  normal  department,  ivith  district  or  county 
branches  if  required.    This  will  do  no  harm. 

Yours  truly,  Geo.  L.  Lumsden.  "29 

In  February,  1853,  the  legislature  passed  a  bill  entitled 
"An  act  to  incorporate  the  northern  Illinois  agricultural  col- 
lege." The  bill  made  no  request  for  funds  from  the  state  but 
empowered  the  corporation  to  raise  funds  by  selling  shares  and 
by  receiving  bequests  and  donations.    The  bill  was  approved  by 

"'The  bill  is  printed  below,  p.  .535. 
""In  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


172  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  governor  on  February  12,  1853.^*^  Apparently  the  project 
was  not  pushed  for  there  is  no  mention  of  any  move  actually  to 
establish  such  a  college  in  the  correspondence  or  papers  of  the 
time.  The  bill  stated  that  the  institution  should  be  permanently 
located  in  Putnam  county;  that  the  object  should  be  the  pro- 
motion of  the  general  interests  of  agricultural  and  mechanical 
education,  to  qualify  students  to  engage  in  the  several  pursuits 
and  employments  of  society,  and  to  discharge  honorably  and 
usefully  the  various  duties  of  life. 

Just  what  connection,  if  any,  this  project  had  with  the 
general  state-wide  movement  for  industrial  education  is  not 
clear.  Some  of  the  men  named  as  incorporators — L.  L.  Bullock 
and  William  A.  Pennell — were  close  friends  of  Turner  and  it 
is  not  likely  they  intended  to  do  anything  that  would  interfere 
with  the  great  plan  advocated  at  the  Granville  meeting,  though 
it  does  appear  strange  they  had  not  consulted  with  Turner.  The 
bill  resembled  that  of  1855  prepared  by  Turner  and  his  friends, 
but  this  was  due  possibly  to  the  fact  that  these  men  held  the 
same  views  on  industrial  education. 

In  1855  the  industrial  university  men  made  an  united  effort 
to  get  their  plan  of  a  university  for  the  state  adopted  by  the 
legislature.  After  careful  preparation  ''A  Bill  for  an  act  to 
incorporate  'The  trustees  of  the  Illinois  university'  "  was  intro- 
duced in  the  legislature.  Six  trustees  named  in  the  bill  together 
with  six  to  be  elected  by  the  people  were  to  choose  a  site  for  the 
institution  in  some  central  portion  of  the  state.  It  was  to  be  a 
university  in  the  broad  sense  for  they  proposed  that  it  should 
include  all  departments  of  useful  knowledge  beginning  with 
those  most  needed  by  the  citizens  of  the  state :  a  teachers '  sem- 
iiiary,  an  agricultural  department,  and  a  mechanical  department. 
For  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  the  university  three 
funds  were  to  be  created :  a  donation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
to  be  collected  by  the  trustees,  the  seminary  fund,  and  the  college 
or  university  fund.^^ 

^"Tho  bill  is  printed  below,  p.  540. 

*'The  bill  and  the  report  of  the  senate  committee  is  printed  below,  p.  546. 
For  history  of  the  bill  see  p.  81.  ^  The  bill  for  the  "Illinois  state  normal 
university"  will  be  found  in  appendix,  p.  556.  For  the  relation  of  this 
to  the  industrial  university  movement  see  p.  83-86,  and  for  a  history  of  the 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  173 

In  1861  an  effort  was  made  to  establish  an  agricultural 
college  in  Washington  county  by  state  aid.  The  institution  was 
chartered  by  an  act  of  the  general  assembly  approved  February 
21,  1861,  and  entitled  "an  act  for  the  disposition  of  seminary 
lands  and  to  incorporate  the  'Illinois  Agricultural  College.'  " 
At  this  time  there  were  four  and  one-half  sections  of  the  seminary 
lands  belonging  to  the  state  still  unsold  and  these  were  given  to 
this  new  and,  as  it  proved,  ill-advised  institution. 

By  the  act  of  incorporation  Thomas  Quick,  J.  W.  Singleton, 
William  A.  Hacker,  Walter  Buchanan,  B.  C.  Renois,  Harmon 
Alexander,  Curtis  Blakeman,  James  G.  Stipp,  and  Zadoc  Casey, 
were  constituted  a  body  corporate  by  the  name  and  style  of  the 
Illinois  agricultural  college  "for  the  purpose  of  instruction  and 
science  in  practical  and  scientific  agriculture,  and  in  the  mechan- 
ical arts.  "22  According  to  a  statement  by  Newton  Bateman, 
state  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  the  founder  of  the 
institution  was  Thomas  Quick,  who  was  also,  according  to  the 
same  authority,  professor  of  law,  and  president  of  the  board  of 
directors. 

The  capital  stock  was  to  be  not  less  than  fifty  thousand 
nor  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  was  to  be 
devoted  exclusively  to  instruction  in  practical  and  scientific 
agriculture  and  mechanic  arts.  The  corporation  sold  the  sem- 
inary lands,  receiving  therefor  fifty-eight  thousand  dollars,  and 
applied  thirty  thousand  dollars  of  the  proceeds  in  the  purchase 
of  the  college  farm  at  Irvington,  Washington  county,  and  in  the 
erection  of  college  buildings  thereon. 

A  reprint  from  the  catalog  of  the  institution,  shows 
what  was  actually  done  to  establish  this  agricultural  col- 
lege: "Six  miles  south  of  Centralia,  at  Irvington,  Washington 
county,  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  they  obtained  560  acres 
of  rich,  rolling  prairie,  pleasantly  situated,  well  supplied  with 
good  water,  and  kno^vn  as  a  healthy  location — the  climate  and 
soil  being  well  adapted  to  develop  the  agricultural  resources 
of  the  State  in  a  high  degree  of  perfection. 

funds  that  went  to  support  it  see,  p.  86.  A  concise  history  of  the  Illinois 
state  normal  university  is  found  in  Illinois  School  Eeport;  1886-1888, 
LXXVII  by  W.  L.  Pillsbury. 

'Ullinois  School  Eeport,  1867-1868,  p.  259. 


174  nistory  University  of  Illinois 

''On  the  farm  they  have  erected  a  boarding  house,  twenty 
by  fifty-six,  with  an  L  extending  back  seventy  feet,  and  a  college 
building  forty  by  sixty.  They  have  also  furnished  extensive 
philosophical,  astronomical,  and  chemical  apparatus,  to  which 
have  been  added,  during  the  year,  a  valuable  collection  of  geologi- 
cal specimens,  and  a  laboratory  for  illustrations  in  practical 
chemistry. '  '^3 

The  institution  Avas  opened  for  work  in  1866,  but  it  was 
already  apparent  to  the  managers  that  the  funds  were  inadequate 
for  obtaining  the  necessary  outfit  of  shops  and  implements ;  for 
the  employment  of  mechanical  and  agricultural  experts  for 
teachers  in  the  practical  way  required;  even  a  model  farm  was 
beyond  immediate  attainment.  In  order  to  secure  a  wider  range 
of  study,  the  legislature  of  1867,  granted  the  institution  per- 
mission to  give  instruction  in  subjects  that  would  make  it  more 
popular  and  more  useful. 

What  the  college  had  developed  into  by  1868  is  learned 
from  the  same  report  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public 
instruction:  "This  college  includes  pupils  of  both  sexes.  It 
has  a  preparatory  course,  and  a  collegiate ;  in  the  latter,  as  at 
present  laid  out,  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  occupy  but  a 
very  subordinate  place,  and  are  optional,  while  the  sciences  rel- 
ative to  agriculture  have  a  special  prominence.  Kegular  classes 
are  foraied  in  the  collegiate  department.  The  Board  of  Instruc- 
tion includes  the  following:  The  President  (Rev.  D.  P.  French) 
who  is  Professor  of  INIental  and  Moral  Science,  and  of  practical 
Agriculture:  a  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  and  of  Mathe- 
matics; a  Professor  of  Law  (Thomas  Quick,  Esq.)  ;  a  Professor 
of  Natural  Science ;  and  a  Professor  of  Military  Tactics,  Horti- 
culture and  a  Commercial  Course Each  county  in 

the  state  can  send  one  student  free  of  charge  for  tuition,  the 
county  court  selecting  the  person.  The  catalog  of  1867-1868 
names  eight  counties  in  southern  Illinois  that  have  used  the  priv- 
ilege." 

Affairs  of  the  Illinois  ''agricultural  college"  did  not  run 
smoothly.  In  1869  the  legislature  instructed  a  committee  to 
investigate  rumors  that  had  come  to  it  in  regard  to  this  insti- 
'Ubid.,  258. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  175 

tution,  and  to  find  out  why  it  had  not  made  a  report  to  the  legis- 
lature as  required  by  law.  The  committee  did  not  find 
things  satisfactory,  therefore  in  1871  the  legislature  by  joint 
resolution,  instructed  the  attorney  general  to  take  legal  measures 
to  dissolve  the  trust  given  the  corporation  by  the  act  of  February, 
1861,  and  to  recover  the  property  given  to  the  institution.  The 
case  was  begun  in  the  circuit  court  of  Washington  county,  which 
court  finally  dismissed  the  bill,  and  assessed  certain  costs  against 
the  state.  By  direction  of  a  joint  resolution  of  the  general 
assembly  the  case  was  then  taken  to  the  supreme  court  which 
reversed  the  decree  of  the  Washington  circuit  court  and  sent  it 
back  for  re-trial.  According  to  the  opinion  of  the  state  supreme 
court,  the  directors  had  provided  no  means  for  teaching  scientific 
agriculture,  had  erected  no  work  shops,  and  had  provided  no 
facilities  for  teaching  the  mechanic  arts.  On  the  contrary,  the 
whole  effort  seems  to  have  been  a  miserable  failure  and  the  insti- 
tution was  in  character  no  more  than  a  common  school.^^ 

' '  The  directors  appointed  A.  D.  Hay  treasurer,  and  author- 
ized him  and  the  secretary  to  sell  the  lands,  which  they  did.  The 
buildings  were  erected,  and  the  money  was  advanced  therefor 
by  Hay,  to  be  paid  from  the  money  for  which  the  land  donated 
by  the  State  was  sold,  when  collected.  It  was  collected  by  Hay, 
and  he  reimbursed  himself,  used  the  balance  and  failed  finan- 
cially, and,  as  the  directors  took  no  bond  from  him,  the  money 
was  lost  and  the  directors  borrowed  money  of  Sawyer,  McCracken 
&  Co.  to  meet  expenses  of  the  school,  and  gave  a  deed  of  trust 
on  the  property  to  secure  its  payment,  which  has  never  been 
paid. 

' '  These  facts,  as  are  shown  by  the  evidence  in  the  case,  seem 
most  clearly  to  establish  a  waste  and  perversion  of  the  fund 
donated  by  the  State.  That  fund  had  been  granted  to  the  State 
by  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  college  or  seminary 
of  the  character  created  by  this  charter,  and  there  would  seem 
to  be  no  doubt  that  the  General  Assembly  intended,  when  they 
donated  it,  that  it  should  be  held  as  a  sacred  trust  fund  for  the 
establishment,  improvement  and  carrying  on  a  college  of  the 
character  they  were  incorporating.  It,  manifestly,  was  not  to 
"^Supreme  Court  Reports,  85:  516-521. 


176  History  University  of  Illinois 

maintain  a  common  school  for  that  particular  neighborhood.  It 
was  intended  to  be  an  institution  for  the  benefit  of  young  men 
throughout  the  entire  State,  and  they  so  provided  by  the  charter; 
but  the  tiTist  was  violated,  the  fund  perverted  or  squandered, 
and  the  purpose  of  the  General  Assembly  defeated,  and  the  bene- 
fits intended  to  be  conferred  by  a  judicious  use  of  the  trust  fund 

were  lost In  this  ease,  the  property  being  stamped 

with  the  character  of  a  trust  fund,  when  sold  the  same  character 
inhered  to  the  money,  and  when  paid  for  the  farm  and  buildings, 
it  attached  and  inhered  to  the  farm  and  structures;  and  they 
being  trust  property,  purchased  with  trust  funds  donated  by  the 
State,  which  held  them  for  the  purposes  of  the  trust,  and  the  cor- 
poration having  shown  themselves  incapable  or  unwilling  to 
execute  the  trust,  the  lands,  buildings  and  property  should  be 
restored  to  the  State,  that  it  may  use  them  for  the  purposes  of 
the  trust.  "35 

Upon  re-trial  of  the  case  April  27,  1878,  the  Washington 
county  circuit  court  brought  a  decree  favorable  to  the  state, 
and  directed  that  the  legal  title  to  the  lands  in  question  be  con- 
veyed to  the  people  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  Meantime,  there 
were  certain  liens  against  the  land,  as  well  as  a  trust  deed  or  mort- 
gage to  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars.  The  attorney  general 
was  doubtful  if  that  part  of  the  decree  of  the  circuit  court  which 
declared  that  the  title  of  the  state  was  to  be  taken  subject  to  the 
lien  of  the  several  judgments  were  sound,  therefore  the  matter 
was  presented  to  the  legislature  in  1879  as  to  whether  further 
litigation  should  be  carried  out.  The  legislature  concluded  that 
it  would  not  be  expedient  to  continue  litigation,  therefore  an 
act  Avas  passed  appropriating  funds  to  take  care  of  the  trust 
deed  and  certain  judgment  liens,  directing  the  auditor  of  the 
state  to  sell  the  lands,  and  to  pay  the  amounts  remaining  after 
discharging  the  encumbrances  upon  the  property  into  the  treas- 
uiy  of  the  state  of  Illinois  to  be  applied  to  such  educational 
purposes  as  might  thereafter  be  provided  by  law.^^ 

The  lands  were  valued  by  three  appraisers  appointed  by 
the  governor  and  their  report  showed  a  total  value  of  $17,800 

^"Supreme  Court  Reports,  85:  518-519,521. 
'^Laws  of  1879,  p.  31. 


Seminary  and  College  Funds  177 

for  548  acres  remaining  unsold  including  $100  of  personal  prop- 
erty. The  property  was  then  sold  by  the  auditor  at  public  auc- 
tion on  July  25,  1879,  at  the  college  buildings  in  Irvington,  and 
brought  a  total  of  $14,608,  one-fifth  to  be  paid  in  cash  and  the 
remainder  in  four  equal  annual  payments.  Against  this  prop- 
erty there  were  encumbrances  amounting  in  all  to  $6,509.95.  On 
August  8,  1879,  the  auditor  paid  over  $4,855.80  to  the  state 
treasury,  a  balance  he  had  on  hand  after  paying  $252.19  on 
account  of  the  expense  of  sales.  On  November  15,  1879,  $555.75 
was  paid  to  the  state  treasury  by  the  auditor  from  the  sale  of 
products  of  the  farm.  By  September  30,  1880  it  was  reported 
that  $10,235.52  had  been  collected.  This  was  $3,725.57  in  excess 
of  expenditures.  There  remained  in  notes  still  to  be  collected 
$5,188.27.  This  sum  plus  the  surplus  over  expenditures  men- 
tioned above,  amounting  to  $8,913.84,  should  have  been  returned 
to  the  treasury  and  credited  to  the  seminary  fund.^"^ 

The  records  in  the  auditor's  office  and  the  treasurer's  office 
do  not  show  that  the  $5,188.27  in  notes  were  ever  collected  and 
placed  in  the  treasury.  The  money  paid  over  to  the  treasury  in 
August  and  November,  1879  amounting  to  $5,411.55  was  credited 
evidently  to  the  regular  revenue  fund  of  the  state.^^  Approxi- 
mately nine  thousand  dollars,  the  remains  of  the  four  and  one- 
half  sections  of  seminary  land  donated  to  the  Illinois  agricultural 
college  at  Irvington  have  not  found  their  way  back  to  the  sem- 
inary fund  where  they  undoubtedly  belong.^^ 

^''Auditors  Eeport,  September  30,  1879. 

"^Letters  from  the  auditor  of  public  accounts  and  from  the  state 
treasurer,  July,  1917. 

^^The  old  college  building  still  stands  in  Irvington  and  has  been  used 
for  a  children 's  home  by  the  Baptists  for  a  number  of  years.  Incidentally 
it  may  be  noted  that  at  the  Springfield  meeting  of  the  agriculturists  in  1864 
the  institution  made  a  bid  for  the  funds  arising  from  the  land  grant  act 
of  1862,  but  nothing  came  of  the  effort.  In  the  light  of  facts  related  above 
the  state  was  fortunate  that  it  did  not  turn  any  more  funds  in  that  particular 
direction. 


178  Ilislorji  Citiiursiln  of  llli)tois 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ILLINOIS    ACCEPTS    THE    DONATION    OF    CONGRESS 

AND  CONSIDERS  ITS  DISPOSITION 

1862-1865 

Illinois,  having  originated,  developed,  and  brought  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue  the  land  grant  proposition,  had  now  the  opportunity 
to  accept  the  terms  of  the  federal  law  and  to  enter  on  the  task 
of  creating  her  own  university.  By  provision  of  the  act  con- 
gress was  to  give  the  states  i)ublie  lands  or  scrip  for  the  same, 
in  the  proportion  of  thirty  thousand  acres  for  each  senator  or 
representative  in  congress.  Illinois,  with  sixteen  representatives 
in  congress,  was  entitled  to  receive  four  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  acres  in  land  or  its  equivalent  in  scrip.  The  proceeds 
of  the  sale  of  the  land  or  scrip  was  to  be  invested  in  stocks  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  the  states,  or  some  other  safe  stocks  yielding 
not  less  than  five  per  cent  to  constitute  a  perpetual  fund,  the  in- 
terest of  which  v/as  to  be  used  for  the  endowment,  support,  and 
maintenance  of  at  least  one  college  in  each  state,  where  the  lead- 
ing object  should  be  the  teaching  of  such  Ijranches  of  learning  as 
related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  It  was  further 
Ijrovided,  that  in  order  to  claim  the  benefit  of  the  act  the  legis- 
latures of  the  states  must  accept  the  provisions  of  the  congres- 
sional grant  within  U\o  years  and  provide  for  the  establishment 
of  at  least  one  college  within  five  years.  Though  Illinois  was 
not  the  first  of  the  state  legislatures  to  accept  the  congressional 
grant  there  was  no  unnecessary  delay,  for  it  took  up  the  question 
immediately  upon  assembling  in  January,  1863.  Governor 
Yates  in  his  annual  message  January  5,  1863,  reminded  the  legis- 
lature that  it  v/as  necessary  to  accept  the  grant  within  the  two 
years  allowed,  and  on  January  8,  Mr.  Mason  of  Knox  county  pre- 
sented a  bill  in  the  senate  for  the  acceptance  of  the  grant.  It 
was  referred  to  the  committee  on  education,  which  reported  it 
back  with  a  substitute  on  Januaiy  12.  The  substitute  was 
adopted  and  the  bill  then  passed  the  senate  by  a  vote  of  22  to  0.' 

^Senate  Journal,  1863,  p.  6G,  82-83. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  179 

In  the  house  the  bill  was  referred  to  the  committee  on 
counties  which  reported  it  favorably,  and  on  February  13,  it 
passed  the  house  with  a  vote  of  62  to  0  and  was  signed  by  the 
governor  the  next  day.^ 

On  the  same  day  that  the  act  accepting  the  donation  of  con- 
gress was  signed,  the  legislature  provided  by  joint  resolution 
for  a  committee  to  be  composed  of  three  from  the  house  and  two 
from  the  senate  to  inquire  into  the  best  method  of  disposing  of 
the  grant  from  congress.  The  preamble  to  the  resolution  stated 
that  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  investigation  was  because  appli- 
cation had  been  made  to  the  general  assembly  by  various  parties 
who  desired  to  be  invested  Avith  the  benefits  of  this  grant.  Nat- 
urally the  question  arises  as  to  the  identity  of  the  parties  so 
eager  in  the  interests  of  the  industrial  classes  of  the  state  that 
they  were  beseeching  the  general  assembly,  even  before  the  accep- 
tance of  the  Federal  act,  to  invest  them  with  the  benefits  of  the 
grant.  As  one  might  expect  it  Avas  not  the  group  of  devoted  men 
who  had  made  the  grant  possible  but  it  was  a  faction,  or  factions 
of  the  small  college  men,  who  had  striven  hard  from  1852  to  1857 
to  get  possession  of  the  college  and  seminary  funds,  who  had 
called  the  plans  of  the  industrial  league  and  of  Turner 
"chimeras,"  "absurd,"  and  "ungodly,"  but  who,  now  that  the 
grant  was  within  reach  of  the  state,  pushed  forward  in  almost 
unseemly  haste,  to  secure  for  their  own  institutions  whatever  part 
of  the  congressional  bequest  they  possibly  could. 

The  activity  of  the  college  men  began  as  early  as  January 
27,  1863,  when  a  memorial  of  the  trustees  of  Shurtleff  college  in 
relation  to  an  agricultural  colllege  was  presented  in  the  senate 
by  Mr.  Underwood  of  St.  Clair  county,  and  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee on  education.  On  January  30,  Mr.  Mason  of  Knox 
county,  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  presented  a  "bill  for  an 
act  to  provide  a  college  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts."  This  was  referred  to  his  committee  and  re- 
ported to  the  senate,  February  2,  under  the  title  of  ' '  Incorpora- 
tion of  sundry  agricultural  colleges,"  vnth  a  substitute  which 
was  adopted  and  ordered  engrossed  for  third  reading.  On  Feb- 
ruary 11,  this  bill  was  read  a  third  time.     It  now  bore  the  title 

■House  Jamrnal,   1863,  p.   116,   201,   288,   621.     The   act   is  printed  iu 
appendix  p.  588. 


IHO  History  University  of  Illinois 

"An  act  to  establish  two  agricultural  colleges,  one  to  be  known  as 
the  agricultural  college  of  southern  Illinois,  and  the  other  as  the 
agricultural  college  of  northern  Illinois.  "3  The  tnistees  named 
in  this  bill  were  men  directly  or  indirectly,  connected  "svith 
Shurtleff  or  with  Knox  college  and  to  them  the  eleventh  section 
of  the  bill  gave  the  power  "to  make  arrangements  with  any 
existing  college  for  the  accommodation  and  instruction  of  the 
students  of  such  Agricultural  College,  and  for  the  use  of  lands, 
buildings,  libraries,  etc."-*  These  facts  when  made  known 
revealed  of  course,  that  the  bill  was  in  the  interests  of  the  col- 
leges and  was  "a  shrewd  effort  on  their  part  to  get  possession  of 
a  valuable  endowment  and  ally  themselves  to  a  vigorous  popular 
movement. '  '^ 

The  industrial  university  men  were  caught  napping;  in 
January  and  February  Kennicott  and  Turner  apparently  knew 
nothing  of  what  was  being  prepared  and  directed  in  the  other 
camp.  Turner  in  a  letter  to  Kennicott  published  in  the  Prairie 
Farmer,  February  7,  1863,  said  that  he  did  not  desire  to  touch 
the  matter  of  the  grant  for  he  wished  all  the  feelings  aroused  in 
the  earlier  contests  wholly  to  die  away.  When  he  found,  as  he 
soon  did,  what  the  college  men  were  up  to,  he  entered  with  his 
usual  vigor  into  plans  to  defeat  them.  Fortunately  for  the 
cause  of  the  industrial  men  the  legislature  took  a  recess  from 
February  14  to  June  2. 

Aware  at  last  of  the  danger  the  friends  of  the  industrial 
movement  issued  a  call  in  the  latter  part  of  ]\Iay  ''to  the  agri- 
culturists and  friends  of  agriculture  throughout  the  state"  to 
meet  in  convention  in  Springfield  on  June  9,  1863.^  After  draw- 
ing attention  to  the  munificent  donation  to  the  state  by  congress 
the  summons  stated  that  such  enactment  remained  to  be  done 
as  would  secure  two  things  beyond  peradventure :  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  conditions  upon  which  the  grant  rested,  so  that  its 
object  would  not  fail  entirely ;  and  the  attainment  of  the  great- 
est possible  benefit  to  the  industrial  classes  of  the  whole  state, 

^Senate  Journal,  1863,  p.  276;  see  also  p.  141. 

^See  below  p.  181. 

^Illinois  School  Reports,  1886-1888,  p.  cxxx. 

'Prairie  Farmer,  May  30,  1863,  and  many  other  papers. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  181 

whose  highest  interests  it  was  specially  designed  to  promote. 
This  call  was  signed  by  twelve  well-known  leaders  in  the  state 
from  ten  different  counties  headed  by  the  enthusiastic  John 
KennicottJ 

When  the  assembly  reconvened  on  June  2,  the  effect  of  the 
work  of  the  college  men  was  readily  recognized,  and  it  caused 
no  little  discomfort  and  uneasiness  among  those  who  w^ere 
opposed  to  a  division  of  the  funds.  An  effort  was  made  by 
friends  of  the  bill  then  pending  in  the  assembly  to  push  it 
through  but  John  Reynolds,  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
agricultural  society,  frustrated  their  scheme.  He  foresaw  the 
danger  and  from  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  bill  in  the 
house  he  secured  a  promise  to  defer  its  report  until  after  the 
meeting  of  the  convention. 

The  sixth  industrial  convention  met  in  Springfield  June 
9,  1863,  with  James  N.  Brown,  of  Sangamon  county  as  president 
and  W.  W.  Corbett  of  Cook  county  and  Thomas  Quick  of  Wash- 
ington county  as  secretaries.  The  call  for  the  meeting  and  the 
act  of  congress  donating  lands  for  the  establishment  of  colleges 
were  read:  resolutions  in  honor  of  Dr.  John  A.  Kennicott  and 
expressing  the  sorrow  of  the  convention  at  his  death  were  also 
read,  after  which  G.  I.  Bergen,  of  Knox  county  introduced  the 
follo^ving  resolution:  "Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this 
meeting  that  the  interests  of  agriculture  can  best  be  promoted 
by  locating  two  Agricultural  Colleges  within  the  State."  This 
was  afterward  amended,  on  motion  of  Dr.  English  of  Madison 
county,  by  the  addition  of  the  words  "in  accordance  viiih  the 
bill  now  pending  before  the  Senate."^ 

Thus  the  college  men  threw  down  the  gage  of  battle  and 
the  fight  was  on.  All  afternoon  and  evening  a  vigorous  discus- 
sion took  place  in  which  some  ten  or  more  men  of  both  parties 
engaged,  including  Bergen  of  Knox,  Turner  of  IMorgan,  Roots 
of  Perry,  English  and  Edwards  of  Madison,  Burroughs  of  Cook, 
Thomas  of  Jackson,  Quick  of  Washington,  and  Lawrence  of 
Boone.    This  was  not  the  first  time  that  a  gi'oup  of  small  college 

'This  vras  probably  the  last  public  act  of  the  "Old  Doctor"  for  he  died 
before  the  convention  met. 

^Prairie  Farmer,  June  20,  1863,  gives  a  full  account  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  convention. 


182  Jlislorij  Univci'sHij  of  Illinois 

men  had  ventured  to  meet  Turner  in  debate  upon  this  same  sub- 
ject :  eleven  years  before,  at  the  second  convention,  Turner 
under  rather  dramatic  circumstances  had  put  them  to  flight, 
and  now  a  new  set  of  opponents  representing  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  the  former  group  faced  Turner  and  its  defeat  was 
as  inevitable. 

The  outcome  of  the  discussion  was  the  adoption  of  a  series 
of  resolutions  offered  by  Turner  in  place  of  those  proposed 
by  G.  I.  Bergen :  the  preamble  recited  that  amid  the  excitement 
of  civil  war  the  people  needed  time  to  reflect  upon  the  best 
method  of  appropriating  and  applying  the  grant  of  lands,  and, 
therefore,  it  was  the  sense  of  the  convention  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  memorialize  the  legislature  to  defer  all  appro- 
priations of  said  funds  for  the  present  session,  and  that  a  com- 
mittee of  one  from  each  congressional  district  of  the  state  be 
appointed  to  collect  and  report  facts,  statistics,  suggestions, 
and  propositions  in  regard  to  said  proposed  institution  and  to 
report  to  the  committee  on  agriculture  at  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature. °  Thus  those  in  control  of  the  convention  used 
the  plea  for  fuller  consideration  in  order  to  delay  action  in 
the  legislature.  It  happened,  however,  that  the  next  day,  June 
10,  the  governor  prorogued  the  legislature  and  the  crisis  was 
safely  passed. 

Impressed  with  the  necessity  of  action  those  who  stood  for 
the  establishment  of  a  new,  single  institution  determined  to 
have  a  bill  ready  for  the  next  legislature,  which  would  meet 
in  January,  1865.  They  filled  the  interval  of  the  year  and  a 
half  with  discussions,  in  lectures,  in  articles,  in  the  press  of  the 
state,  and  with  action  in  the  form  of  resolutions  at  agricultural, 
horticultural,  educational,  and  industrial  conventions.  Almost 
every  issue  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  during  the  latter  half  of  1863 
and  during  1864  had  one  or  more  articles  on  the  subject  of  the 
industrial  university.  The  writers,  some  of  them  from  outside 
of  the  state,  advocated  strongly  a  single  institution,  separate 
from  existing  colleges,  from  which  politics  and  sectarianism 
should  be  excluded.     On  August  29,  1863,  the  Prairie  Farmer 

"For  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  congressional  committee  and  for 
the  memorial  to  the  legislatmo  see  below  p.  472-473  and  also  Prairie  Farmer, 
June  20,  1863. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  183 

declared  that  not  a  single  agriculturist  had  yet  raised  his 
voice  through  the  public  press,  in  favor  of  a  disposition  of  the 
grant  such  as  had  been  urged  by  the  college  men  at  the  Spring- 
field convention. 

At  the  Rockford  Fair  the  state  horticultural  society  held 
a  meeting  on  September  9,  at  which  a  series  of  resolutions  were 
passed  declaring:  "that  the  industrial  interests  of  our  state 
are  one  and  indivisible ;  that  one  institution  should  be  estab- 
lished independent  of  all  existing  institutions  of  learning ;  that 
a  course  of  lectures  on  the  elements  of  agriculture  be  given  in 
some  city  of  Illinois  during  the  coming  winter  under  the  auspices 
of  the  state  agricultural  and  the  state  horicultural  societies,  "i*^ 
President  George  W.  Minier  of  the  horticultural  society  reported 
this  action  to  the  state  agricultural  society,  which  approved 
the  report,  adopted  similar  resolutions,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  cooperate  with  its  sister  society. 

That  the  agriculturists  were  thoroughly  aroused  is  shown 
by  the  suggestion  of  President  Van  Epps  of  the  state  agricul- 
tural society  in  a  letter  to  the  Prairie  Farmer  of  December  7, 
1863,  which  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  the  supreme 
court  should  hold  that  the  legislature,  prorogued  by  the  gover- 
nor, was  in  session,  that  it  was  highly  important  for  the  con- 
gressional committee  appointed  June  9,  to  be  ready  to  report 
a  bill  at  a  moment's  notice.  President  Van  Epps  addressed  a 
letter  on  December  14,  to  President  Minier  of  the  horticultural 
society,  suggesting  to  him  that  the  horticultural  society  should 
be  represented  at  a  meeting  of  the  executive  board  of  the  state 
agricultural  society  in  Springfield  on  January  5,  1864,  to  dis- 
cuss plans  for  the  organization  of  a  state  agricultural  college. 
He  added  that  the  governor  was  already  in  possession  of  the 
scrip  for  four  hundred  eighty  thousand  acres  so  that  the  endow- 
ment was  secure.  1^ 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  state  horticultural  society, 
held  in  Alton  December  15,  1863,  President  Read  of  Shurtleff 
college  was  introduced  and  made  a  strong  argument  for  the 
attaching  of  the  agricultural  college  to  some  already  existing 

'"Illinois  State  Horticultinal  Society,  Transactions,  1863,  p.  117. 
"Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  ."5:   80.5. 


184  History  University  of  Illinois 

education  establishment,  and  set  forth  the  peculiar  merits  and 
advantages  of  the  institution  over  which  he  presided.  He  pre- 
sented the  following  resolution  and  urged  its  adoption:  "Re- 
solved, That  in  our  judgment  it  is  expedient  to  establish  in  our 
state  two  agricultural  colleges,  one  for  the  Northern  part  and 
one  for  the  Southern  part,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  well 
established  literary  institutions,  so  that  by  securing  the  advan- 
tages of  their  buildings,  apparatus,  libraries,  and  professors, 
we  may  thereby  be"  able  to  employ  the  congressional  fund  for 
exclusively  agricultural  purposes.  "^^  The  society  referred  the 
resolution  to  a  committee  appointed  to  meet  with  the  state  agri- 
cultural society  and  instructed  to  report  at  the  next  annual 
meeting.  President  Read  asked  for  more  time  to  present  the 
claims  of  Knox  and  Shurtleff,  but  was  politely  refused.  Instead 
the  society  passed  resolutions  pledging  cooperation  with  the  state 
agricultural  society,  recommending  the  establishment  of  one 
school,  and  appointing  a  committee  of  ten  to  meet  with  the 
agriculturists  January  5,  1864,  in  Springfield.  Action  by  other 
organizations  followed  closely  upon  that  by  the  horticultural 
society.  During  the  Christmas  recess  the  state  teachers'  asso- 
ciation declared  in  favor  of  one  institution  thus  placing  itself 
squarely  on  the  side  of  the  agriculturists.^  ^ 

Extensive  preparations  for  a  convention  in  Springfield  were 
made  and  articles  by  Secretary  Reynolds  of  the  agricultural 
society  and  by  J.  B.  Turner  appeared  in  the  Prairie  Farmer 
just  previous  to  the  meeting,  in  order  to  infoiTti  the  public  in 
regard  to  the  situation.  A  severe  snow  storm  and  cold  weather 
interfered  materially  with  the  attendance  at  this  convention 
which  met  pursuant  to  the  call  on  January  5,  1864,  in  Spring- 
field, but  many  organizations  were  represented  notwithstanding 
the  difficulties  of  travel.  Delegates  from  nineteen  different 
county  agricultural  societies,  besides  committees  from  the  state 
horticultural  and  agricultural  societies  and  the  congressional 
committee  of  the  sixth  convention,  were  on  hand.  Dr.  William 
Kile  of  Edgar  county  was  chosen  president.  Briefly  stated  the 
convention  recommended  the  following  in  regard  to  the  organ- 

"Illinois  State  Horticultural  Society,  Transactions,  1863,  p.  56. 
^^Prairie  Farmer,  January  9,  1864. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  185 

ization  of  an  agricultural  college :  there  should  be  a  single,  new 
institution  entirely  separate  from  any  existing  college ;  the  man- 
aging board  of  which  should  consist  of  five  members  residing  in 
different  parts  of  the  state,  no  two  in  the  same  congressional 
district,  who  should  be  nominated  by  the  executive  board  of 
the  state  agricultural  society,  approved  by  the  governor,  and 
confinned  by  the  senate ;  the  college  should  be  established  after 
considering  the  offers  of  such  localities  as  chose  to  make  them 
at  the  point  which  in  the  judgment  of  a  locating  board,  offered 
the  greatest  facilities  and  inducements;  an  experimental  farm 
of  not  less  than  one  hundred  acres  should  be  established  in 
connection  with  the  college;  agricultural  tests  and  experiments 
should  be  instituted  in  different  sections  of  the  state  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  the  adaptation  of  climate  and  soils  to  the 
productions  of  various  grains,  gi'asses,  roots,  fruits,  and  animals. 
These  recommendations  made  by  the  committee  headed  by 
Turner,  were  adopted  by  the  convention  with  minor  changes.  It 
was  added  by  resolution  that  each  county  and  representative 
district  should  havj  representatives  among  the  students,  and 
another  that  students  should  be  at  least  seventeen  years  old  to  be 
admitted.^  ^  A  final  resolution  by  Turner,  suggested  ' '  that  while 
the  final  aim  of  the  institution  ought  to  be  the  highest  that  the  hu- 
man mind  can  conceive,  and  that  a  great  people  can  ultimately  ex- 
ecute, we  should  attempt  to  realize  this  high  ideal  by  progressing 
toward  it  only  by  a  slow  and  healthful  growth,  by  the  most 
cautious  and  limited  expenditure  of  funds  and  resources  from 
year  to  year."  The  convention  provided  a  means  of  keeping 
the  subject  alive  and  before  the  people  by  appointing  Reynolds, 
Minier,  and  Turner  to  write  articles  for  the  Prairie  Farmer  and 
other  papers,  on  the  origin,  history,  and  proposed  uses  of  the 
congressional  endowment. 

The  agriculturists  of  the  state  were  agreed  on  the  chief 
principles  involved  in  the  disposition  of  the  grant.  "All  the 
Conventions,  and  all  the  acts  of  Demagogue  and  Sophist  in 
the  world  cannot  change  their  minds  now, ' '  wrote  Turner ;  ' '  they 
know  what  they  want  and  they  intend  to  stick  to  it ;  others  may 
indeed  betray  them;  but  they  cannot  change  them.     Oh,  that 

"Prairie  Farmer,  January  16,  1864. 


186  Ilislorii  Univcrsihi  of  Illhwis 

they  iniyht  liiid  lioncst  men  to  honestly  execute  and  carry  out 
their  desires.  I  hope  and  pray  that  they  may.  I  am  sure  that 
at  last  they  will,  but  it  may  be  only  after  many  sad  reverses 
and  experiences."^'^  One  week  later  the  editor  of  the  Prairie 
Farmer  stated  that  the  sentiment  of  the  recent  convention  was 
without  any  doubt  the  conviction  of  the  agricultural  and  mechan- 
ical classes  of  the  state  en  masse,  but  he  recognized  that  there 
were  in  the  state,  men  of  influence  and  ability  who  held  other 
views,  who  in  working  so  earnestly  for  their  own  pet  institu- 
tions, really  believed  they  were  laboring  for  the  best  possible 
disposition  of  the  grant.  ' '  We  have  no  blame  to  attach  to  these 
men, ' '  he  added,  ' '  It  was  but  natural  and  their  enterprise  and 
zeal  praiseworthy,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  for  Christian 
gentlemen  it  w^ould  have  looked  more  becoming  to  have  first 
consulted  the  desires  of  those  especially  contemplated  in  the 
Act  of  Congress  itself.  "^"^ 

It  is  apparent  that  the  editor  was  endeavoring  to  deal  justly 
in  estimating  those  who  held  opinions  contrary  to  his  own. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  the  self  interest  of  these  people  blinded 
them  to  the  public  interest.  Since  the  tim.e  of  the  editor,  quoted 
above,  there  have  been  those  who  have  said  that  the  Catholic 
church  has  been  the  great  opposer  of  the  extension  and  develop- 
ment of  our  great  state  and  public  educational  systems.  It  may  be 
well  to  remind  those  who  may  hold  such  opinions  that  there  were 
in  Illinois  from  1852  to  1867  various  colleges,  representing  sev- 
eral Protestant  denominations,  that  struggled  wdth  all  their 
might  in  the  first  place  against  the  creation  of  one  of  the  most 
beneficent  systems  of  public  education  the  country  has  known 
and  then  later  strove  equally  hard  to  wreck  it  by  attempting 
to  take  the  benefits  to  themselves.  The  arguments  they  used 
to  support  their  claims — that  the  state  was  ''ungodly"  and 
"inca])able" — have  long  since  been  abandoned.  Some  valuable 
time  and  energy  have  been  expended  in  the  course  of  years, 
however,  in  bringing  it  about.  Fortunately,  and  this  we  deem 
extremely  important,  whatever  the  attitude  of  the  various  de- 
nominations both  Catholic  and  Protestant  has  been  in  the  past, 

•^Turner  to  W.  A.  Pennell,  January  27,  1864,  Pennell  manuscripts. 
^Trairie  Farmer,  February  6,  1864. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  187 

their  present  relations  with  the  state  university  are  most  cor- 
dial and  satisf actoiy. 

In  the  summer  of  1864  the  agriculturists  placed  no  little 
blame  upon  members  of  the  legislature  for  allowing  themselves 
to  be  led  and  misled  by  the  small  college  men.  For  this  reason 
the  farmers  were  exhorted  to  see  that  every  candidate  for  the 
coming  legislature  should  make  public  avowal  as  to  his  attitude 
on  this  great  question. 

In  July  a  new  element  of  disturbance  was  injected  into 
the  course  of  affairs  by  Colonel  Francis  E.  Eastman  of  Chicago, 
who  proposed  to  Governor  Richard  Yates  that  one-half  of  the 
fund  derived  from  the  land  grant  act  be  used  by  the  agricul- 
tural interests  to  establish  a  college  centrally  located,  and  one- 
half  by  the  mechanics  to  found  a  college  in  Chicago ;  and  that  the 
governor  appoint  a  commission  to  report  plans  for  disposing  of 
the  lands  and  establishing  the  schools  to  the  next  general  assem- 
bl}^  The  next  month  Governor  Yates,  although  he  refused  to 
commit  himself  to  any  particular  plan  of  action,  appointed  a 
commission  as  suggested. ^^  This  act  brought  down  upon  the 
governor  the  wrath  of  the  agriculturists  who  considered  that  they 
had  been  insulted,  since  the  governor,  by  following  the  advice 
of  Colonel  Eastman,  had  sanctioned  a  division  of  the  fund  and 
had  ignored  the  committee  already  appointed.  The  agriculturists 
attacked  also  the  personnel  of  the  governor's  commission — not 
as  men  but  as  representatives  of  interests  inimical  to  the  cause 
of  the  industrial  classes.  The  following  characterization  was 
given  by  a  writer:  "I.  W.  Yv^.  Everetts,  Baptist  preacher  con- 
nected with  Chicago  University,  2.  Hon.  J.  H.  Mulke,  Chicago, — 
dry-goods  merchant,  3.  Judge  C.  B.  Lawrence,  Galesburg — is 
he  not  connected  with  the  Galesburg  colleges?  4.  Kersey  Fell, 
he  Avill  do,  if  you  have  others  of  right  stripe  with  him.  5.  Prof. 
J.  M.  Sturtevant,  of  Illinois  College.  6.  Cyrus  Edwards,  Alton — 
Trustee  (?)  of  Shurtleff  College.  7.  Judge  Harris  of  Cairo." 
Another  writer  said :  "I  am  sick  of  this  damnable  trifling  with 
every  interest  of  the  farmer,  making  him  only  the  hev/er  of  wood 
and  the  drawer  of  v;ater  for  the  miserable  'cusses'  who  manage 
by  chicaner}^  and  dishonesty  to  usurp  all  places  of  trust  and 

^'Prairie  Farmer,  August  6,  13,  1864. 


188  History  Umversity  of  Illinois 

responsibility  Avliich  should  be  occupied  by  honest  men. ' '  These 
critics  pointed  out  that  not  one  of  the  men  interested  in  the  cause 
of  the  farmers  or  prominent  for  many  years  in  securing  the  grant 
had  received  recognition  by  the  chief  executive  of  the  state.  The 
governor,  accused  of  being  under  the  influence  of  Chicago  pol- 
iticians and  of  adroitly  bargaining  for  votes,  soon  realized  that 
he  had  stirred  up  a  hornet's  nest.  He  then  attempted  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  his  critics  by  appointing  Turner  and  a  few  others 
to  the  committee.  Though  a  personal  friend  of  Governor  Yates, 
Turner  refused  the  appointment  and  condemned  the  entire  pro- 
ceeding in  his  usual  vigorous  manner.  ^^ 

Early  in  September,  1864,  the  governor's  committee  added 
another  blunder  to  those  already  made.  It  published  a  state- 
ment in  the  papers  to  the  effect  that  all  parties  intending  to 
apply  for  any  portion  of  the  fund  should  prepare  a  written 
statement  of  their  claim.  The  Prairie  Farmer  in  publishing  this 
appended  some  caustic  remarks  on  the  ''coolness  of  this  formal 
opening  of  the  'grab  game.'  " 

To  combat  the  various  opposing  schemes  to  get  control  of  the 
federal  fund  and  to  perfect  their  own  plans,  the  agriculturists 
called  a  convention  to  meet  in  Decatur,  September  15,  1864, 
in  connection  with  the  state  fair.  President  Van  Epps  of  the 
state  agricultural  society  in  his  opening  address  reviewed  the 
situation,  stating  again  the  arguments  for  an  institution  separ- 
ate from  existing  colleges  and  urging  mechanics  and  agricul- 
turists to  act  together.  "Be  not  divided,"  said  he,  "and  thus 
more  easily  conquered.  "^^ 

Resolutions  were  passed  condemning  a  division  of  the  fund, 
endorsing  the  work  of  the  sixth  convention,  June  9,  1863,  and 
the  seventh  convention,  January  5,  1864,  resolving  to  support 
no  man  for  office  regardless  of  political  status,  without  assurance 
of  his  support  for  the  bill  they  would  introduce,  and  selecting 
an  able  committee  consisting  of  William  H.  Van  Epps,  J.  B. 
Turner,  John  P.  Reynolds,  A.  B.  McConnell,  and  B.  G.  Roots 

^^Prairie  Farmer,  September   10,   October   8,    1864.     C.   E.   Griggs  of 
Urbana  was  one  of  those  appointed  later  by  the  governor  on  his  commission. 
^"Prairie  Farmer,  September  24,  1864. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  189 

to  frame  a  bill  and  urge  its  passage  by  the  next  legislature.^^ 
So  much  interest  was  manifest  in  the  subject  that  three  special 
meetings  were  held  during  the  fair  to  consider  it.  Both  General 
R.  J.  Oglesby,  republican  candidate  for  governor,  and  Governor 
Richard  Yates,  spoke  at  one  of  the  meetings,  and  resolutions 
which  were  passed  later  stated  that  they  considered  both  men 
to  have  pledged  themselves  for  the  cause  of  the  agriculturists. 
The  governor  endeavored  to  justify  his  appointment  of  the  com- 
mission, and  admitted  that  he  had  not  given  as  much  attention 
as  he  should  to  the  college  situation.  Resolutions  were  offered 
asking  him  to  withdraw  his  appointment  but  they  were  not 
pressed  to  a  vote.^i 

The  agricultural  press  contained  many  articles  during 
October,  1864,  urging  farmers  to  be  at  the  polls  on  election  day 
and  to  see  to  it  that  the  right  men  were  elected.  Early  in  the 
same  month,  John  P.  Reynolds  called  the  congressional  commit- 
tee, of  which  he  was  chairman,  to  meet  at  Springfield  on  Tues- 
day, December  6,  1864,  "for  the  purpose  of  reporting  the  views 
of  the  Committee  to  the  appropriate  Committees  of  the  next 
General  Assembly. "22  The  chairman  of  the  governor's  commis- 
sion, W.  W.  Evarts,  called  his  committee  to  meet  at  Springfield 
the  same  day,  and  invited  the  committee  of  the  state  agricul- 
tural society  to  meet  with  them  and  to  assist  in  their  delibera- 
tions. At  the  same  time  he  called  a  preliminary  meeting  of  his 
committee  for  the  second  Tuesday  in  November  in  Chicago.  At 
this  preliminary  meeting  the  governor  appeared  and  stated  to 
the  members  that  since  appointing  them  he  had  learned  that  a 
committee  had  been  chosen  by  the  agricultural  society  to  bring 
the  whole  matter  before  the  legislature  and  that,  in  order  to 
avoid  confusion,  he  desired  the  committee  appointed  by  him  to 
disband.  After  passing  resolutions  the  committee  acquiesced  in 
the  governor's  request.  Soon  after  the  governor  sent  Turner 
a  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  his  commission  on  disbanding. 

One  would  think  that  the  success  won  by  the  agriculturists 
in  this  affair  would  have  pleased  Turner,  but  as  he  Avrote  Rey- 

^lllinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:  986-987  and  also 
see  appendix  p.  475. 

^Illinois  School  Feports,  1886-1888,  p.  cxxxii. 

"Prairie  Farmer,  October  8,  1864.  > 


190  Hist  or]!  UnircrsHy  of  Illinois 

nolds  on  November  19,  18G4,  it  did  not,  for  it  disarranged  all  his 
plans.-^  The  wording  of  their  resolutions  led  him  to  believe  that 
the  committee  intended  to  cause  division  between  the  agricultural 
and  mechanical  interests  and  he  foresaw  that  instead  of  having 
the  ex-members  as  an  organized  force  to  fight  in  the  open, 
the  agriculturists  would  now  have  them  firing  from  the  bushes 
to*  which  they  had  driven  them.  The  dissensions  between  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  interests  Avhich,  fostered  by  poli- 
ticians and  others,  prevented  any  final  action  on  the  part  of 
the  legislature  the  next  winter  proved  that  Turner's  belief  was 
well-founded. 

As  the  time  for  the  legislature  to  meet  drew  near,  interest 
in  the  subject  became  more  manifest.  There  were  four  bodies 
of  men  to  assemble  during  December  and  January  Avhose  acts 
would  have  an  important  bearing  on  the  welfare  of  the  state: 
the  Decatur  committee  of  September,  1864,  and  the  congressional 
committee  of  June  9,  1863 ;  the  horticultural  society ;  the  execu- 
tive board  of  the  state  agricultural  society ;  and  the  legislature. 

The  horticultural  society  at  their  meeting  spent  little  time 
in  discussion  of  the  agricultural  college  question  for  there  was 
little  difference  of  opinion,  but  they  passed  a  resolution  to  the 
effect  that  to  divide  the  federal  fund  would  be  a  perversion  of 
the  grant.24 

In  accordance  with  the  calls  issued,  different  committees 
appointed  by  mass  conventions  of  liorticulturists  and  agricul- 
turists of  the  past  year  m.et  in  the  rooms  of  the  state  agricultural 
societj^  in  Springfield  on  December  6,  to  take  into  consideration 
the  preparation  of  a  bill  to  present  to  the  next  legislature  for 
the  disposal  of  the  congi'essional  grant  of  four  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  acres  of  laiul.  There  were  delegations  from  the 
south,  central,  and  northern  parts  of  the  state  to  present 
"claims"  for  location  of  the  school,  division  of  the  fund,  and 
other  matters.  A  large  and  influential  delegation  from  the 
mechanics  of  Chicago  was  present  to  urge  upon  the  convention 
the  propriety  of  a  division  of  the  fund,  in  order  to  establish  a 
mechanical  school  in  Chicago  and  an  agricultural  school  some- 


-'Tiirner  to  Eeyuolds,  November  19,  1864,  Turner  manuscripts. 
=*Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  5:  925. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposidon  of  Donation  191 

v/here  in  the  interior  of  the  state.  The  committee  from  Chicago 
urged  this  proposition  by  many  arguments,  the  leading  one  being 
that  students  attending  such  a  school  in  Chicago  would  have 
better  opportunities  to  learn  the  practical  part  of  a  mechanical 
education  by  observing  the  process  of  building  and  the  manipu- 
lations in  the  various  shops  and  factories  of  the  city.  Among 
those  from  Chicago  Avho  spoke  for  the  committee  were  P.  W. 
Gates  and  the  chairman,  A.  D.  Titsworth.  Arguments  for  the 
unity  of  the  fund  in  endowing  one  institution  were  presented 
by  J.  B.  Turner,  B.  G.  Roots,  J.  P.  Reynolds,  K.  H.  Fell,  J.  W. 
Fell,  and  N.  M.  McCurdy.  The  discussions  were  lengthy  and 
earnest  but  carried  on  with  much  good  feeling.  Neither  side  was 
won  over  by  the  arguments  presented  and  it  was  understood  that 
the  decision  should  be  left  to  the  legislature  and  the  Chicago 
committee  cordially  tendered  its  support  should  the  legislature 
decide  not  to  divide  the  fund. 

Perhaps  the  friendly  attitude  of  the  Chicago  committee 
deceived  Turner  into  thinking  that  the  mechanics  were  really 
after  all  going  to  change  their  attitude,  for  in  a  letter  to  the 
Chicago  Tribune  dated  December  27,  1864,  he  stated  that  many 
of  the  committee  after  "the  friendly  conference"  had  themselves 
concluded  "that  the  policy  of  unity  is  far  better  than  that  of 
division.  "25  The  Prairie  Farmer  pointed  out,  after  publishing 
the  report  of  the  Chicago  committee  made  at  home,  that  there 
was  no  use  in  those  who  favored  a  single  institution  shutting 
their  eyes  to  this  movement  for  it  was  really  a  formidable  affair.^^^ 

Besides  the  question  of  the  division  of  the  fund  the  com- 
mittees in  session  at  Springfield  listened  to  several  propositions 
on  the  question  of  location :  B.  G.  Roots  on  behalf  of  the  South- 
ern Illinois  agricultural  college  at  Irvington,  offered  a  building 
already  erected,  a  cash  fund  of  $60,000,  and  considerable  land 
if  a  state  institution  should  be  located  there ;  Dr.  Scroggs  repre- 
senting a  company  at  Champaign,  stated  that  it  would  tender  to 
the  state  at  the  proper  time  a  large  building  erected  for  college 
purposes,  with  ten  acres  of  land,  the  whole  valued  at  $100,000. 
The  committees,  not  deeming  it  in  their  province  even  to  recom- 

"In  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 

-'For    report   of   the    Chicago   Committee   see   below    p.    477    ;ui'l    also 
Prairie  Farmer,  December  17,  1864. 


192  History  University  of  Illinois 

mend  a  location,  took  no  action  on  these  propositions  believing 
the  question  should  be  left  to  a  locating  board,  empowered  to 
receive  proposals  and  to  make  awards.  After  spending  some 
time  in  consideration  of  the  bill  to  be  presented  to  the  legislature, 
the  committee  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  January,^^ 

During  the  weeks  from  December  6,  1864,  to  January  2, 
1865,  Turner,  Reynolds,  and  a  few  of  their  friends  consulted 
and  labored  together  in  the  preparation  of  a  bill  to  be  introduced 
into  the  coming  legislature.  Reynolds  consulted  with  McConnel, 
General  Fuller,  and  Newton  Bateman  in  Springfield  and  Turner 
frequently  with  Judge  Dummer  and  Judge  Berdan  and  other 
old  friends  of  the  cause  in  Jacksonville.^^  They  planned  to  have 
Judge  Fuller  father  the  bill  but  as  he  Avas  chosen  speaker  of  the 
house  another  man  was  asked  to  do  it.  They  struggled  to  word 
the  bill  so  that  people  should  know  at  the  outset  what  kind 
of  an  institution  the  industrialists!  desired,  but  at  the  same 
time  they  did  not  wish  to  enter  too  far  into  detail  and  possibly 
restrict  the  growth  of  the  university.  They  considered  at  first 
the  proposition  of  having  names  of  trustees  and  commissioners 
in  the  bill,  but  later  gave  that  up  agreeing  that  it  would  be  wiser 
to  leave  their  appointment  to  the  governor.  Mr  Reynolds  in  a 
letter  to  Turner  gave  a  list  of  the  difficulties  in  connection  with 
the  above  subject,  and  said  in  conclusion:  "To  make  a  clear, 
intelligible  organic  act,  expressing  neither  too  much  nor  too  little, 
meeting  all  objections  and  giving  prominence  to  all  excellence 
is  no  easy  task  but  I  hope  it  may  be  accomplished.  "^^  As  finally 
formulated,  the  charter  in  a  general  way  provided  that  an  undi- 
vided fund  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  a  single  institution, 
the  location  of  which  should  be  determined  by  a  commission. 

The  twenty-fourth  general  assembly  opened  on  January  2, 
1865,  and  Governor  Yates  in  a  message  to  that  body  recom- 
mended that  a  commission  be  appointed  for  the  location  of  the 
university.  He  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  fanners  had  a  com- 
mittee that  would  present  their  views  and  a  draft  of  a  bill  and 

"Ubid.,  December  17,  1864. 

^'Turner  to  Eeyiiolds,  December  22,  1864,  Turner  manuscripts. 
'"Kcynolds  to  Turner,  December  22,  1864,  Turner  manuscripts,  Spring- 
field. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  193 

that  a  committee  representing  the  mechanics  of  Chicago  would 
lay  a  communication  before  the  legislature.^^ 

On  January  10,  1865,  the  bill  drafted  by  the  Decatur  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Van  Epps,  Turner,  Reynolds,  McConnel, 
and  Roots,  was  introduced  in  the  house  by  Mr.  Tincher.  It  was 
entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  organization,  endowment, 
and  maintenance  of  the  Illinois  industrial  college."  Ten  days 
later  the  bill  was  referred  to  a  special  committee  and  then  to  the 
committee  of  the  whole.  Here  it  received  numerous  amendments, 
but  of  special  importance  was  the  one  to  section  11  which  had  to 
do  with  the  location  of  the  university.  This  amendment  was  in 
the  form  of  a  resolution,  and  proposed  that  the  senators  and 
representatives  from  the  various  congressional  districts  of  the 
state  name  one  commissioner  for  the  location  of  the  industrial 
university  from  each  of  the  said  districts  and  report  the  names. 
The  bill  with  amendments  emerged  from  the  committee  on 
February  10  and  was  ordered  to  third  reading.  The  amendment 
to  section  11  was  laid  on  the  table.  Then  came  a  move  that  was 
credited  by  the  friends  of  the  bill  to  the  efforts  of  groups  of 
men  in  Cook  and  Champaign  counties.  The  significance  of  the 
endeavor  was  apparent  when  Representative  Cook  of  Cook  county 
submitted  as  a  substitute  to  section  11  of  the  proposed  bill,  a 
proposition  to  locate  the  university  at  Urbana,  Champaign 
county,  whenever  that  county  should  convey  to  the  trustees  the 
"Urbana  and  Champaign  institute,"  building,  grounds  and  ap- 
purtenances, certain  lots  and  ten  acres  of  ground  composing  the 
college  campus  and  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres 
connected  therewith.  It  provided  also  that  the  trustees  should 
have  power  to  establish  "now  or  hereafter"  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago a  "department  of  the  said  university  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  the  mechanic  arts,"  provided  suitable  buildings  and 
ground  should  be  donated,  together  with  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars;  similarly  the  trustees  should  be  empowered 
to  establish  a  department  in  southern  Illinois  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  agriculture.  After  debate  the  substitute  carried  by  a 
vote  of  45  to  35.     Then  on  February  13,  the  bill  as  amended 

''"Illinois  School  Eepoiis,  1:  11-12.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
mechanics  of  Chicago  planned  to  present  their  views  although  they  did 
not  do  so. 


194  Uisiurti  C iiivcr.sihj  of  Jllinuis 

passed  the  house  by  a  vote  of  45  to  34.  In  the  senate,  Mr.  Lind- 
say proposed  a  second  reading  but  it  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  9  to  12. 

Previous  to  this,  on  January  13,  another  bill  on  the  subject 
had  been  inti'oduecd  into  the  senate  by  Senator  Lindsay.  Back 
of  this  Avere  the  Champaign  county  men  who  had  secured  a  copy 
of  the  bill  formed  by  the  Decatur  committee,  and  striking  out 
the  eleventh  section,  inserted  a  clause  which  located  the  univer- 
sity between  Urbana  and  Champaign.  It  was  referred  to  a 
special  committee  of  seven,  but  when  after  amendment  it  came 
to  a  vote  on  February  6,  it  was  lost  by  a  tie,  12  to  12.^^ 

Difference  of  opinion  upon  the  question  of  location  of  the 
proposed  industrial  university  had  brought  about  the  defeat  of 
the  whole  project.  On  February  16,  1865,  immediately  following 
the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  the  Decatur  committee  made 
a  report  giving  a  full  history  of  the  situation.  Upon  the  general 
plan  of  locating  the  institution  the  committee  stated  its  attitude : 

"I.  As  an  equivalent  for  the  local  benefits  likely  to  flow 
from  its  being  fixed  at  any  point,  the  interests  of  the  university 
demand,  and  the  State  is  entitled  to,  not  only  a  good  bargain,  but 
the  best  one  obtainable;  and  that  the  greatest  possible  advan- 
tages, physical,  fijianeial,  social  and  educational  be  secured. 

"2.  If  located  in  any  manner  which  does  not  afford  all 
portions  of  the  State  opportunity  to  make  proposals,  the  sym- 
pathies and  affections  of  the  whole  people  cannot  be  expected 
to  follow  and  bless  it. 

' '  3.  The  precedents  of  this  State  were  in  favor  of  the  inter- 
vention of  a  commission  of  discreet  persons,  to  be  selected  by 
the  Governor  and  Senate,  or  appointed  by  vote  of  both  Houses 
of  the  General  Assembly.  There  could  be  no  appearance  even 
of  want  of  equity  in  submitting  the  matter  to  a  commission; 
there  was  nearly  two  years  and  a  half  within  which  to  secure 
the  buildings,  and  our  friends  therefore  adopted  this  mode." 

On  the  question  of  division  of  the  fund  the  report  says: 
"Even  before  the  first  day  of  the  session,  the  advocates  of  a 
division  of  this  fund  among  several  of  the  existing  literaiy  insti- 
tutions commenced  pressing  their  peculiar  views  upon  the  atten- 
''Rmise  Journal,  1865,  p.  122,  305,  670,  700-702,  788,  806-811,  1000. 


Illi7iois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  195 

tion  of  members;  but  soon  becoming  aware  that  success  Avas 
not  possible,  abandoned  that  movement  as  hopeless. ' ' 

In  regard  to  the  11th  section  and  the  attempt  to  locate  direct 
by  law  the  report  has  the  following: 

''Immediately  upon  the  presentation  of  the  bill  by  our 
friends  in  the  House,  a  copy  of  it  was  obtained  by  those  repre- 
senting an  interest  in  Champaign  County,  the  eleventh  section, 
which  provided  for  a  commission  to  locate,  stricken  out  and  a 
provision  was  inserted  and  introduced  into  the  Senate  locating 
the  proposed  university  between  the  towns  of  Urbana  and 
Champaign  on  condition  of  the  transfer  for  use  of  the  University 
of  a  certain  edifice  and  grounds  there  situated. 

"For  reasons  at  once  apparent,  our  friends  could  not  give 
this  scheme  their  support.  The  point  of  location  was  not  in 
itself  objected  to,  but  to  locate  direct  by  law  without  chance  for 
competition  would  be  a  breach  of  faith  to  the  remainder  of  the 
State  and  sacrifice  if  not  the  life,  at  least  the  usefulness  of  the 
Institution.  This  claim,  was  however,  most  persistently  pressed, 
and,  during  nearly  the  whole  session  stood  in  the  w^ay  of  the  pas- 
sage of  any  other  act  upon  the  subject. 

"Near  the  close  of  the  session,  failing  to  bring  the  majority 
of  both  Houses  or  of  either  House  to  the  support  of  their  plan, 
a  combination  was  formed  and  an  amendment  made  to  our 
bill  in  the  House,  providing  for  the  location  of  the  University 
proper  in  Champaign  County,  the  creation  of  a  school  for  the 
mechanic  arts  in  Chicago,  and  a  school  for  agriculture  in  South- 
em  Illinois,  dividing  the  fund  among  them  in  no  very  definite 
manner  and  thus  practically  dismembering  the  Institution  itself. 

"Aside  from  the  racre  fact  of  division,  this  scheme  was 
objectionable  because  it  provided  for  two  schools  of  practical 
art  only,  a  thing  as  already  stated,  not  contemplated  by  the  act 
of  Congress,  and  worse  than  useless  anywhere.  The  bill,  thus 
amended  passed  the  House,  and  sent  to  the  Senate,  and  there 
sleeps,  we  trust  in  death.  "^2 

The  Springfield  papers,  the  Fegistcr  and  the  Journal,  had 
articles  and  editorials  supporting  the  bill  fi-amcd  by  the  Decatur 

''-The  complete  reports  of  the  Decatur  cominittee  is  given  in  the  report 
of  1867,  appendix,  p.  492. 


196  History  University  of  Illinois 

committee,  and  opposing  the  proposition  that  arose  once  more  to 
divide  the  fund.  The  Journal  in  an  editorial  on  February  13, 
1865,  stated  very  clearly  and  concisely  the  objections  to  the 
amended  bill : 

"1.  It  provides  for  a  virtual  division  of  the  fund  into  two 
or  three  parts,  when  no  one  knows  Avhat  can  be  realized  from  the 
grant. 

"2.  The  harmony  among  the  industrial  classes  so  essential 
to  the  success  of  the  scheme,  is  sacrificed  by  a  departure  from  a 
principle  universally  acknowledged  to  be  vital,  and  by  an  arbi- 
trary location  of  the  institution,  thereby  endangering  the  whole 
enterprise. 

' '  3.  The  buildings  at  Urbana,  no  matter  how  well  adapted 
to  the  use  for  which  they  were  originally  designed,  can  scarcely 
be  adapted  to  the  use  now  proposed  to  be  made  of  them.  It 
should  be  the  object  of  every  friend  of  the  measure  in  the  State, 
to  secure  buildings  which  shall  be  models  of  their  kind  and  which 
shall  stand  for  centuries  in  the  future  as  monuments  at  once  of 
the  taste,  skill  and  munificence  of  the  present  time.  These 
results  can  only  be  obtained  by  the  construction  of  new  build- 
ings. 

"4.  The  location  of  a  line  of  colleges  at  Chicago,  Urbana, 
and  in  some  part  of  Southern  Illinois  ignores  tlie  ivliole  western 
lialf  of  the  State,  and  practically  excludes  it  from  the  benefits 
designed  to  be  conferred  upon  the  citizens  of  the  State  in  general. 

''5.  The  bill  as  amended  allows  to  Southern  Illinois  the 
privilege  of  bidding  for  the  location  of  the  institution  proposed 
to  be  established  in  that  section  of  the  State  while  it  denies  tlie 
same  privilege  to  the  rest  of  the  State.    Why  is  this  difference? 

"6.  While  the  amended  section  of  the  bill  requires  the 
trustees  to  establish  a  department  of  the  Institution  at  Chicago, 
it  simply  authorizes  them  to  establish  another  department  in 
Southern  Illinois.  The  mandatory  portions  of  the  section  with 
reference  to  Southern  Illinois  are  so  loosely  written  that  they 
may  be  evaded,  if  the  Trustees  choose  to  do  so.  Is  the  object 
of  this  to  sell  Egypt  out? 

''We  might  multiply  objections  and  illustrate  the  unequal 
character  of  the  provisions  by  quoting  the  amended  section  which 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  197 

has  made  the  bill  in  its  present  shape  so  obnoxious  to  the  leading 
friends  of  industrial  education,  but  these  are  sufficient  Eather 
than  that  the  bill  in  its  present  shape  should  pass,  every  impar- 
tial friend  of  the  measure  will  say,  let  it  be  defeated,  and  great 
as  that  calamity  would  be ;  let  all  action  be  deferred  two  years, ' ' 

The  new  factor,  the  group  espousing  the  cause  of  Champaign 
and  Urbana,  that  had  now  entered  publicly  into  a  contest  to 
secure  the  location  of  the  proposed  university,  had  not  been 
previously  identified  in  any  way  with  the  industrial  educational 
movement  that  had  been  going  on  in  Illinois  for  some  fourteen 
years.  In  this  group  of  men  there  were  those  who  were  undoubt- 
edly interested  in  industrial  education,  but  the  incentive  that 
was  urging  them  on  to  obtain  for  their  community  the  benefits 
of  the  federal  grant  was  something  else. 

The  movement  to  secure  an  agricultural  college  in  Cham- 
paign county  had  its  origin  during  the  discussion  of  a  project 
to  erect  a  building,  known  later  officially  as  the  "Urbana-Cham- 
paign  institute"  on  a  site  between  the  towns  of  Urbana  and  West 
Urbana.33  In  the  week  of  January  20,  1859  there  appeared  in  the 
two  towns,  a  certain  Jonathan  C.  Stoughton,  formerly  of  Aurora 
but  then  from  Freeport,  Illinois.  He  was  both  a  minister  and 
a  promoter  and  acting  chiefly  in  the  latter  capacity  he  succeeded 
in  launching  a  project  that  profoundly  impressed  citizens  of  the 
Urbanas.  Eeverend  Mr.  Stoughton  represented  a  company  com- 
posed besides  himself,  of  a  Mr.  Hodgerson,  J,  E.  Babcock,  and 
George  Harvey,  which  hoped  to  establish  seminaries  at  different 
points  throughout  the  state.  Already  they  had  founded  the  Clark 
seminary  at  Aurora,  Illinois  and  had  settled  upon  the  Urbanas  as 
a  point  suitable  for  the  establislunent  of  a  similar  institution.  In 
the  furtherance  of  this  purpose  the  Reverend  ]\Ir.  Stoughton 
came  to  open  negotiations  with  influential  men  in  the  two  towns. 

The  project  as  stated  by  the  Urbana  paper,  Ou7'  Constitution, 
the  week  following  the  Reverend  Mr.  Stoughton 's  visit  was  this : 
' '  They  desired  to  purchase  two  hundred  acres  of  ground  between 
here  and  "West  Urbana;  and  upon  this  they  proposed  to  erect 
their  seminary  at  a  cost  of  $60,000  to  $80,000.    The  only  condi- 

"To  make  clear  the  references  to  West  Urbana  it  may  be  noted  that  the 
name  of  West  Urbana  was  changed  by  a  vote  of  the  board  of  supervisors 
of  the  county  in  May,  1860  to  Champaign.     Urbana  Clarion,  May  5,  1860. 


198  IJistorjj  Univer.^ihi  <>[  lUinoi.'i 

tioii  they  make  is,  that  the  land  shall  be  sold  to  them,  not  at  a 
low  but  at  a  reasonable  price.  They  ask  no  special  favors,  nor 
any  particular  display  of  liberality:  they  propose  to  carry  out 
the  project  with  their  own  means,  if  the  above  condition  shall 
be  complied  with.  This  project  deserves  encouragement.  The 
company  will  expend  not  less  than  $100,000  in  our  midst,  and 
leave  us  an  educational  establishment  of  the  first  class.  Of 
course  those  who  have  it  in  hand  expect  to  find  their  profit  in 
it.  They  expect  to  be  able  to  sell  a  sufficient  number  of  lots  at  a 
sufficient  price  to  repay  themselves  for  the  outlay."^"* 

The  promoter  seems  to  have  made  it  clear  to  the  citizens 
that  the  company  was  acting  from  motives  of  personal  gain. 
The  project  was  placed  on  a  business  basis  chiefly,  though  along 
with  it  was  the  attractive  educational  appeal  which  was  perhaps 
stronger  because  merely  incidental.  The  plan  appealed  to  the 
citizens  of  the  two  towns  because  it  offered  means  of  stopping  up 
the  ' '  awful ' '  gap  between  the  towns.  With  apparent  readiness 
they  immediately  took  up  the  task  of  finding  out  the  sentiment 
of  the  community  and  of  devising  methods  of  procedure. 

On  Saturday  evening,  January  29,  1859,  citizens  of  Urbana 
met  at  the  court  house,  discussed  the  scheme  and  appointed  a 
committee  of  three  to  confer  with  a  like  committee  from  West 
Urbana,  which  was  appointed  two  days  later,  in  reference  to  the 
proposals  they  could  secure  from  the  holders  of  the  land  lying 
between  the  two  towns.  The  discussions  in  the  meetings  and  in  the 
local  press  were  mostly  favorable  to  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  plan  and  it  was  even  suggested  by  Dr.  C.  A.  Hunt  of  Urbana 
that  in  case  the  present  company  did  not  choose  to  accept  their 
land  proposals  a  company  of  citizens  might  organize  to  secure 
funds  for  a  seminary. ^^ 

Negotiations  were  delayed  on  account  of  the  illness  of  Mr. 
Hodgerson's  wife,  for  according  to  Reverend  Mr.  Stoughton,  Mr. 
Hodgerson,  who  lived  in  the  east,  furnished  all  the  money  for  the 
seminary  projects.^'^     In  July  Stoughton  and  Babcock  visited 

°*Our  Constitution,  January  29,  1859. 

'>-^Ibid.,  February,  19,  1859. 

^^Ccntral  Illinois  Gazette,  Champaign,  July  13,  1859  published  two 
letters  from  Stoughton,  dated  April  and  June,  1859,  to  Dr.  Scroggs  explain- 
ing that  Mr.  Hodgerson  was  preveutcd  from  coming  by  the  sickness  of  his 
wife. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  199 

the  towns,  feeling  out  the  sentiment  of  the  community  in  regard 
to  their  enterprise.  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  there  was 
some  further  discussion  of  the  plan  but  nothing  definite  was 
accomplished  until  June,  1860,  by  which  time  Hodgerson  seems 
to  have  withdrawn  from  the  company. 

On  the  evening  of  June  18,  1860,  the  friends  of  the  project 
met  in  Champaign  and  after  a  number  of  rousing  speeches  favor- 
ing the  plan  a  subscription  paper  was  circulated  that  brought 
$10,000  in  pledges.  A  committee  of  four  from  each  town  was 
selected  to  canvass  the  county,  and  on  June  27  it  was  reported 
that  $-10,000,  the  amount  desired,  had  been  raised  by  subscrip- 
tion.^'^ They  were  ready  now  to  enter  into  a  contract  Vv'ith  the 
company  to  erect  the  seminary  building. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  observe  the  shrewd 
foresight  of  the  Urbana  leaders :  a  letter  from  them  offering  for 
the  purposes  of  a  state  agricultural  college  a  building  erected  at 
a  cost  of  $100,000-^8  ^yas  i-ead  June  27,  1860,  at  an  industrial 
educational  convention  in  Bloomington.  The  speculative  nature 
of  the  offer  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  it  was  made  some  five  days 
before  the  contract  with  Stoughton  and  others  for  the  erection 
of  the  building  was  actually  signed;  the  citizens  were  certainly 
alive  to  their  opportunities  in  thus  seeking  to  get  a  state  agri- 
cultural college — that  did  not  exist — to  occupy  a  seminary 
building  that  was  not  yet  even  on  paper. 

On  July  2,  1860,  arrangements  having  been  made  by  which 
the  promoters  had  secured  sufficient  land  and  the  necessary 
amount  having  been  subscribed,  a  contract  was  made  and  signed 
that  provided  for  the  erection  of  the  seminary  building. 

The  parties  to  the  contract  were:  for  the  company,  Jonathan 
C.  Stoughton  of  Freeport,  Illinois,  John  E.  Babcock,  of  Aurora, 
Illinois,  and  George  Harvey  of  Fort  Edward,  Washington 
county,  New  York;  for  the  citizens,  Joseph  AV.  Sim,  Jr.,  William 
Park,  William  H.  Romine,  Carter  F.  Columbia,  John  H.  Thomas 
and  James  S.  Wright  of  the  county  of  Champaign,  Illinois."^ 

'''Central  Illinois  Gazette,  Juno  20-27,  ISCO. 

^^Chicago  WeeJcly  Times,  June  27,  1860.  Urhana  Clarion,  June  30, 
1860  confirms  this  by  saying  that  a  project  was  under  consideration  to 
have  the  state  agricultural  college  occupy  the  building. 

'•'The  contract  is  printed  in  full,  below  p.  458. 


200  History  University  of  Illinois 

The  agreement  stated  that  the  company  was  the  owner  of  certain 
tracts  of  land  lying  between  Wright  street  on  the  west  and  Lin- 
coln avenue  on  the  east,  Springfield  avenue  on  the  south,  and 
north  beyond  the  city  limits,  amounting  to  193.9  acres  which  it 
agreed  to  plot  and  lay  off  into  to^\^^  lots,  except  eight  acres 
thereof,  upon  which  should  be  erected  a  building  suitable  for  a 
seminary  of  learning.  The  building  was  to  have  a  stone  founda- 
tion and  brick  walls  of  equal  size,  capacity,  and  of  the  general 
form  and  model  of  Clark  seminary  at  Aurora,  Illinois.  It  was  to 
cost  no  more  than  Clark  seminary  would  if  made  of  brick  and 
was  to  be  built  between  August  1,  1860,  and  November  15,  1862. 

The  citizens  on  their  part  agreed  to  secure  by  August  1, 
1860,  a  valid  subscription  list  of  stock,  acceptable  to  the  company, 
to  the  amount  of  forty  thousand  dollars.  One  share  of  stock  was 
quoted  at  one  hundred  dollars.  Each  subscriber  to  the  stock 
was  to  be  permitted,  on  payment  of  fifteen  percent  of  his  sub- 
scription and  giving  notes  for  the  remainder,  to  select  a  town 
lot,  or  lots  from  those  not  disposed  of,  to  the  amount  of  his  sub- 
scription, at  an  average  price  of  two  hundred  dollars  per  lot. 
Such  lots  would  be  conveyed  by  deed  in  fee  to  the  subscriber, 
or  his  heirs,  on  payment  of  the  promissory  notes. 

When  the  whole  cost  of  the  eight  acres  and  the  construction 
of  the  seminary  building  upon  the  said  eight  acres  had  been  paid 
for  from  the  subscriptions  of  stock,  the  promoters  of  the  enter- 
prise, were  to  turn  over  to  the  stockholders,  or  their  trustees, 
the  said  seminary  and  the  eight  acres  upon  which  it  was  located. 
The  amount  paid  by  the  company  for  the  193.9  acres  of  land 
was  $19,298.79^^  As  the  amount  of  subscribed  stock  asked  for 
in  the  agreement  was  $40,000  and  from  this  the  cost  of  the  build- 
ing and  eight  acres  was  to  be  paid  it  seems  quite  apparent  that 
the  $40,000  was  expected  to  cover  the  cost  of  these  two  items. 
Profit  to  the  promoters  would  come,  then,  from  the  sale  of  lots 
adjacent  to  the  seminary  grounds,  other  than  those  assigned  to 
the  subscribers  of  stock.  It  was  known  that  the  price  of  the  lots 
at  an  average  of  $200  per  lot  was  exorbitant  but  as  shares  in  the 
seminary  building  were  included  it  was  considered  not  so  had. 

*°This  is  shoTVTi  in  three  deeds,  two  made  on  June  30,  1860  and  the 
third  of  August  17,  1860,  purchased  from  William  H.  Romine,  James  S. 
Wright,  and  the  Busey  heirs. 


Jonathan  C.  Stoiighton  (1820-1900) 
was  a  native  of  New  England  who, 
through  early  choice  of  the  ministry  as  a 
profession,  received  a  good  education.  He 
settled  at  Aurora,  Illinois  in  1848,  joining 
the  Eock  River  Conference.  He  heM 
several  pastorates  in  the  state  one  of 
them  being  in  Chicago  at  the  Grace 
Methodist  church.  His  chief  interests 
were  in  education  and  in  temperance  and 
being  a  speaker  of  ability  and  able  in 
dealing  with  men,  he  made  himself  felt 
in  both  lines. 


Dr.  Charles  A.  Hunt  was  a  native  of 
Trenton,  Xew  Jersey.  He  studied  medi- 
cine at  Springfield  and  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
and  came  to  Urbana  in  the  fall  of  18.55. 
He  suggested  the  donation  of  the  Urbana- 
Champaign  Institute  to  the  state  for  the 
now  university  and  his  name  headed  a 
petition  from  Champaign  County  citizens 
to  the  legislature  in  1861.  Dr.  Hunt  en- 
tered the  Army  in  1862  as  a  physician 
and  died  in  the  U.  S.  General  Hospital  at 
Mound  City,  111..  18(5.'?,  from  overwork 
and  exposure. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  201 

There  seem  to  be  three  principal  reasons  advanced  for  pro- 
moting the  enterprise;  the  interest  in  education,  the  hope  of 
allaying  the  jealousy  between  the  twin  cities,  and  the  opportunity 
for  personal  gain  through  increased  value  of  property.  At  this 
time  the  citizens  had  no  specific  plan  for  establishing  a  school 
even  when  the  building  was  constructed,  other  than  they  hoped 
the  state  would  take  the  building  off  their  hands. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1860  preparations  went 
forward  looking  to  the  construction  of  the  building.  Early  in 
December  Reverend  Mr.  Stoughton,  now  of  Champaign,  preached 
in  Champaign.  His  immediate  object  was  "to  commend  the 
seminary  enterprise  to  the  moral  and  religious  sympathies  of 
his  audience."  When  the  legislature  met  in  January,  1861, 
it  was  presented  with  a  memorial  signed  by  sixty-two  prom- 
inent citizens  of  the  twin  cities,  headed  by  Dr.  C.  A.  Hunt.*^ 
The  memorial  argued  that  it  was  important  for  the  agricultural 
interests  of  the  state,  that  there  be  established  an  agricultural 
seminary  of  learning,  and  in  connection  with  it  an  "agricul- 
tural bureau"  under  state  jurisdiction  and  support.  It  called 
attention  to  the  advantages  of  Champaign  county  as  the  location 
for  such  an  institution  or  institutions,  and  suggested  that  a 
portion  of  the  seven  per  cent  tax  fund  arising  from  the  Illinois 
central  railroad  be  set  apart  to  support  the  enterprise.  In  this 
memorial  was  used,  too,  the  argument  so  effective  six  years 
later,  that  Champaign  county  and  the  eastern  portion  of  Illinois 
had  received  no  patronage  from  the  state  treasury.  Finally, 
they  made  the  proposition  that  Urbana-Champaign  donate  the 
seminary  grounds  and  the  building  in  process  of  erection  to  the 
state  for  the  proposed  institution.^^ 

It  was  thought  at  the  time  that  the  legislature  of  1861 
might  establish  an  agricultural  college  in  the  state.  The  Bloom- 
ington  convention  of  June,  1860,  had  this  idea  in  mind.  Again 
it  is  observed  that  the  Champaign  county  leaders  in  sending 
the  memorial  of  January,  1861,  were  neglecting  no  opportunit.y 
to  get  aid  from  the  state  to  relieve  them  of  the  burdens  of  that 

"According  to  Judge  J.  O.  Cunningham,  one  of  the  signers,  Dr.  Hunt 
was  the  author  of  this  memorial,  which  was  printed  in  the  Champaign 
County  Democrat,  January  26,  1861. 

^'The  memorial  is  printed  below  p.  462. 


202  History  University  of  Illinois 

seminary  project.  The  Champaign-Urbana  memorial  was  pre- 
sented in  the  house  on  January  31,  1861,  and  referred  to  the 
committee  on  education. ^^  The  legislature  took  no  other  action 
in  regard  to  it. 

On  February  21,  1861,  however,  the  legislature  granted  a 
charter  incorporating  the  "Urbana-Champaign  institute"  for 
the  purpose  of  "establishing  and  maintaining  a  seminary  of 
learning  comprehending  an  agricultural,  or  other  departments 
as  the  public  may  demand,"^"*  but  made  no  provision  for  state 
aid  of  any  kind  to  the  institution.  The  incorporators  named 
in  the  act,  B.  F.  Harris,  William  Park,  J.  T.  Everett,  John 
Insley,  J.  S.  Wright,  John  Penfield,  J.  W.  Sim,  Jr.,  C.  F. 
Columbia  and  Henry  Nelson  were  to  constitute  the  first  board  of 
trustees,  and  were  given  authority  to  manage  the  property  and 
the  financial  concerns  of  the  corporation  and  to  confer  degrees 
and  diplomas.  The  real  estate  in  the  seminary  plat  as  laid  out 
into  lots  was  to  represent  the  capital  stock  of  the  corporation. 
The  capital  stock  could  be  increased  to  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars  each.  On  August  6, 
1861,  the  corner  stone  of  the  institute  was  laid.  Bishop  Matthew 
Simson  delivering  the  address  on  this  occasion.^^ 

By  the  latter  part  of  August,  1861,  there  were  many  evi- 
dences of  distress  in  the  affairs  of  the  institute.  Civil  war  had 
begun  and  finances  throughout  the  country  were  in  such  an 
embarrassed  condition  that  collections  were  well-nigh  impossible. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  trustees  of  the  Urbana-Champaign 
institute  held  their  first  meeting  in  Champaign  on  August  31, 
1861.  After  reviewing  the  financial  condition  of  the  institute, 
and  with  the  express  understanding  and  agreement  with  the 
builders,  Stoughton  and  Babcock,  the  trustees  voted  to  delay  the 
erection  of  the  institute  building  until  the  next  season  when  it 
would  1)0  pushed  to  completion  if  possible.  On  September  25 
the  minutes  of  this  meeting  together  with  a  full  statement  from 
Stoughton  and  Babcock  were  published  in  the  Central  Illinois 
Gazette.    The  essence  of  their  statement  to  the  people  was  that 

*mouse  Journal,  1861,  p.  284. 

"See  "act  of  incorporation"  below  p.  4GG. 

*''Central  Illinois  Gazette,  July  31,  1861. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  203 

under  their  contract  they  should  have  received  in  February, 
1861,  six  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  sub- 
scribed forty  thousand  dollars,  to  use  for  incidental  and  current 
expenses.  In  this  they  had  been  wholly  disappointed ;  they  had 
paid  out  between  eight  and  ten  thousand  dollars  and  had  received 
less  than  twelve  hundred  dollars.  Worse  than  this  failure  to 
pay  on  the  part  of  the  subscribers  was  the  refusal  to  sign  notes 
which  could  have  been  used  as  collateral  security.  They  admit- 
ted the  times  were  difficult  and  declared  their  intention  to  carry 
through  the  project  as  soon  as  at  all  practicable.  Thus  work  on 
the  seminary  building  was  suspended.^^ 

After  the  land  grant  act  of  July  2,  1862,  had  been  signed. 
Dr.  C.  A.  Hunt  of  Urbana  suggested  again  that  they  take  advan- 
tage of  the  situation  and  attempt  to  secure  the  location  of  the 
proposed  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  for  their  unoc- 
cupied and  as  yet  unfinished  building. ^''^  This  suggestion  was 
taken  up  by  the  local  papers  and  adopted  by  the  people  as  the 
policy  to  be  followed.  It  was  right  in  line  with  the  course  they 
had  already  entered  upon,  but  from  this  time  on  it  assumed  new 
importance  because  Champaign  county,  through  its  board  of 
supervisors,  backed  this  project  of  its  citizens  to  secure  the  state 
agricultural  college. 

On  May  4,  1864,  Supervisor  Bailey  offered  resolutions  that 
were  adopted  to  the  effect  that  Illinois  having  accepted  the  dona- 
tion of  congress  ''of  150,000  acres"  (it  Avas  480,000  acres), 
that  they  ask  the  legislature  to  locate  the  college  in  Champaign 
county,  and  that  they  use  all  honorable  effort  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  object.^^  Before  definite  offers  could  be  made 
to  the  state  it  was  found  necessary  to  make  satisfactory  arrange- 
ment with  Stoughton  and  Babcock.  At  a  meeting  of  the  sem- 
inary company  on  IMonday  evening,  December  12,  1864,  Mr. 
Stoughton  gave  the  people  to  understand  that  before  any  dona- 
tion could  be  effected  the  rest  of  the  stock  would  have  to  be  sold. 
This  would  amount,  he  said,  to  some  thirty-five  or  forty  thousand 

"Probably  no  more  than  the  foundation  had  been  completed  for  only 
eight  to  ten  thousand  dollars  had  been  expended  on  it  up  to  this  time. 
^'Stated  on  authority  of  Judge  J.  O.  Cunninc^ham. 
^'Record  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  III :  298,  May  4,  1864. 


204  History  University  of  Illinois 

dollars.^^  The  Gazette  in  commenting  on  this  said  it  was  all 
right  for  the  builders  to  endeavor  to  secure  the  payment  of  this 
to  reimburse  themselves  for  their  outlay,  but  to  insist  upon  the 
payment  of  this  before  any  conveyance  could  be  made,  was  arbi- 
trary and  contrary  to  the  interests  of  the  community  and  to 
the  interests  of  the  promoters  as  Avell.^*^  A  week  before  this, 
on  December  6,  1864,  Dr.  Scroggs  had  been  sent  to  Springfield 
to  meet  with  the  Decatur  committee  of  the  farmers'  convention 
and  had  offered  them  "a  magnificent  building"  for  the  agri- 
cultural college.^i 

As  the  legislature  was  soon  to  meet  and  something  had  to 
be  done,  the  county  supei^isors  came  to  the  rescue  in  their 
meeting  of  December  19,  1864:  they  proposed  to  accept  the  offer 
of  Stoughton  and  Babcoek  to  transfer  the  Urbana-Champaign 
institute  for  $24,000  if  Illinois  would  locate  the  industrial  uni- 
versity in  it;  appropriated  $15,000  to  buy  a  farm,  or  to  use  in 
securing  the  location  of  the  university;  appointed  a  committee 
of  five  to  confer  with  Illinois  central  railroad  company  to  secure 
cooperation  for  location  of  university;  appointed  a  committee 
of  twelve  to  visit  Springfield  the  next  session  to  secure  an  act 
to  enable  the  county  to  borrow  money  and  issue  bonds ;  and  made 
arrangements  whereby  $5,000  of  the  $15,000  above  mentioned 
might  be  secured  from  the  treasurj^  and  one-twelfth  given  to  each 
member  of  the  committee  to  be  used  in  securing  the  university.^^ 

The  supei*visors  were  careful  for  they  specified  that  no 
payment  should  be  made  until  the  state  had  by  law  located  the 
university  in  Champaign  county.  They  had  received  some 
encouragement  for  their  hope  that  the  state  might  so  locate  the 

^'Supposedly  this  stock  had  all  been  subscribed  in  1860  but,  according 
to  the  statement  of  Stoughton  and  Babcoek,  the  citizens  had  failed  to 
pay  or  to  sign  notes. 

^^Central  Illinois  Gazette,  December  16,  1864. 

"Turner  said  later  that  Scroggs  had  been  in  apparent  agreement  with 
the  aims  and  proposals  of  the  Decatur  committee,  and  that  for  this 
reason  he  had  been  freely  admitted  to  their  meetings;  they  were  surprised 
and  somewhat  shocked  when  later  he  appeared  as  an  ardent  Champaign 
partisan. 

"Eecord  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  III:  332,  December  19,  1864. 
The  committee  of  twelve  consisted  of  W.  D.  Somers,  J.  W.  Scroggs,  C.  B. 
Griggs,  W.  C.  Coles,  T.  E.  Webber,  A.  B.  Condit,  W.  Nebeker,  John  S. 
Busey,  J.  C.  Stoughton,  A.  H.  Bailey,  M.  L.  Dunlap,  and  William  A.  Conkey. 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  205 

proposed  institution:  the  governor's  commission  before  it  dis- 
banded in  November,  1864,  visited  the  institute  and  it  was 
believed  to  be  almost  unanimously  in  favor  of  locating  the  uni- 
versity in  Champaign  county. ^^  This  amounted  to  little,  of 
course,  except  as  it  might  be  interpreted  as  encouragement. 
According  to  a  local  paper,  Dr.  Scroggs  reported  favorably  the 
meeting  he  had  attended  in  Springfield.  He  reported  thus, 
perhaps,  from  the  cordial  manner  in  which  he  had  been  received 
for  apparently  there  was  nothing  else  to  base  it  upon.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  affairs,  when  the  legislature  met  in  January, 
1865,  and,  as  has  been  related  finally  adjourned  without  action 
because  of  the  disagreement  upon  the  subject  of  the  location  of 
the  proposed  industrial  university. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  bill  introduced  in  the  senate 
on  January  13,  1865,  by  Senator  Lindsay  was  the  same  as  the 
bill  introduced  by  the  agriculturists  with  the  exception  of  sec- 
tion 11.  The  substitute  section  shows  just  what  Champaign 
county  offered  the  state  in  1865 : 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  trustees  to  permanently 
locate  said  university  at  Urbana,  in  Champaign  County,  Illinois, 
whenever  the  county  of  Champaign  shall,  according  to  the 
proper  forms  of  law,  convey,  or  cause  to  be  conveyed,  to  said 
trustees,  in  fee  simple,  and  free  from  all  incumbrances,  the 
Urbana  and  Champaign  Institute  building,  grounds  and  appur- 
tenances, together  with  the  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  connected 
therewith,  as  proposed  in  the  following  offer,  in  behalf  of  said 
county,  to- wit: 

'The  undersigned,  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  of  Champaign  County,  are  instructed  to  make  the 
following  offer  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  in  consideration  of  the 
permanent  location  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  at 
Urbana,  in  Champaign  county,  viz :  We  offer  the  Urbana  and 
Champaign  Institute  building,  the  college  grounds,  containing 
about  ten  acres,  together  with  the  appurtenances  thereto  belong- 
ing, with  one  hundred  acres  of  land  adjacent  thereto,  valued  at 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars,  free  from  all  incum- 

^^Prairie  Farmer,  November  12,  1864.     According  to  the  Union,  Cham- 
paign, the  commission  must  have  visited  Champaign  sometime  in  October. 


206  History  Univcrsihj  of  lUinoifi 

brancc — the  buikling  to  be  completed  in  accoi'dancc  with  the 
original  plan  and  specifications — title  to  be  perfect,  and  con- 
veyance to  the  State  made  or  caused  to  be  made,  by  the  county 
of  Champaign  upon  the  permanent  location  of  the  Illinois  Indus- 
trial University  upon  the  said  grounds,  so  to  be  conveyed  as 
aforesaid. 

W.  D.  SOMERS  A.  B.  CONDIT 

W.  A.  CONKEY  J.  W.  SCROGGS 

W.  N.  CoLER  T.  R.  Webber 

A.  H.  Bailey  Washington  Nebiker 

J.  C.  BUSEY  M.  L.  DUNLAP 

J.  C.  Stoughton  C.  R.  Griggs 

Committee. '    ' ' 

That  there  was  "push"  back  of  this  so  called  "substitute 
bill"  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  early  in  the  session  a  joint 
committee  was  sent  by  special  train  to  visit  Champaign  county 
on  January  21,  1865.  The  report  of  this  committee  gives  some 
interesting  facts  in  regard  to  Champaign  county  at  that  time, 
the  progress  made  on  the  seminary  building,  and  the  general 
impression  made  on  the  committee : 

"Your  Joint  Committee,  appointed  to  visit  Urbana,  find 
the  proposition  from  Champaign  County  substantially  as  rep- 
resented in  the  bill  containing  the  proposition  of  said  county. 

"The  general  appearance  of  the  country  is  unsurpassed  in 
the  west,  for  the  beauty  of  its  landscape,  the  richness  and  vari- 
ety of  its  soil,  interspersed  with  groves  of  fine  timber  and  streams 
of  pure  water. 

' '  Champaign  county  is  located  about  the  center  of  the  State, 
North  and  South,  and  midway  between  Bloomington  and  the 
State  Line  on  the  east,  it  is  remarkably  healthy,  and  long  cele- 
brated for  its  fine  cattle  and  abundant  harvests.  It  is  included 
in  the  great  coal  fields  of  the  west,  and  at  a  depth  of  less  than 
two  hundred  feet,  as  is  shoAvn  by  actual  experiment,  are  found 
rich  veins  of  the  best  bituminous  coal. 

"The  Illinois  Central  railroad  runs  through  the  county  from 
north  to  south,  and  the  Great  Western  railroad  runs  from  east 
to  west.  The  cities  of  Champaign  and  Urbana  are  connected  by 
street  cars,  and  contain  a  population  of  about  eight  thousand. 


'  Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  207 

''The  Urbana  and  Champaign  Institute  is  a  substantial 
brick  building,  with  stone  foundation,  standing  on  a  beautiful 
elevation  of  ground,  about  one-half  mile  from  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral railroad  at  Champaign  City,  and  about  an  equal  distance 
from  Urbana,  the  county  seat  of  Champaign  County.  The  whole 
structure  is  beautiful  in  its  architectural  proportions,  and  very 
imposing  in  its  appearance. 

"The  main  building  is  125  feet  front,  by  40  feet  in  depth, 
and  five  stories  high.  From  the  center  a  wing  projects,  44  by 
70  feet,  four  stories  high.  The  front  wall  has  a  projection  eight 
feet  by  forty,  Avith  pilasters  and  towers  ornamenting  the  corners. 
The  stories  are  from  10-14  feet  in  height.  The  inside  of  the 
building  is  unfinished,  and  may  be  somewhat  modified  from  the 
original  plan,  if  desired,  as  to  size  and  number  of  rooms. 

*  *  The  original  plan  contemplated  some  85  or  90  dormitories, 
or  students'  rooms,  10  by  15  each  with  suitable  rooms  for  the 
principal  and  professors,  large  and  commodious  recitation,  paint- 
ing and  society  rooms ;  ample  dining  room  and  chapel  with  base- 
ment, kitchen,  and  cellar,  halls  and  storage  rooms,  amounting 
to  one  hundred  and  seventy  or  eighty  rooms  in  all  with  accom- 
modations for  from  four  to  six  hundred  students.  Accommo- 
dations for  a  much  larger  number  of  day  students  could  easily 
be  pro\dded  by  reducing  the  number  of  dormitories.  The  walls 
are  without  crack  or  blemish,  and  the  whole  structure  is  very 
substantially  built.  The  building  is  under  the  contract  to  be 
wholly  finished,  complete  and  entire,  at  the  expense  of  the 
county  in  the  early  part  of  the  coming  summer. 

' '  The  farm,  of  one  hundred  acres,  is  contiguous  to  the  build- 
ing, and  is  a  handsomely  elevated  tract  of  land,  with  a  stream  of 
living  water  running  through  it. 

"We  have  examined  the  abstract  of  title  to  these  grounds 
and  find  the  title  perfect,  and  in  a  condition  to  be  conveyed 
unincumbered. 

"The  building  and  grounds  are  admirably  adapted  to  the 
purposes  of  the  Industrial  University,  and  the  surrounding 
country  is  most  charming.  This  offer  to  the  State  indicates  the 
thrift  and  enterprise  of  the  people. 


208  History  University  of  Illinois 

"In  the  opinion,  therefore,  of  the  committee,  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  County  of  Champaign  is  a  most  generous  and  liberal 
one,  and  the  location  most  desirable.  Yet,  while  your  committee 
admit  all  this,  we  do  not  desire  to  compromit  any  one  to  the 
proposed  location. 

W.  BusHNELL,  Sen  Ch'n.  W.  T.  Hopkins 

A.  J.  Hunter  0.  W.  Bryant 

J,  H.  Addams  J.  T.  Springer 

D.  K.  Green  R.  C.  Dunn 

Jno.  B.  Cohrs  Scott  Wike 

Leander  Smith 
George  H.  Dikeman." 

The  Gazette  said  to  its  readers  following  the  visit,  that  from 
appearances  the  bill  of  Senator  Lindsay  would  pass.^'*  This  con- 
clusion was  perhaps  justified  by  the  report  above  which  appeared 
so  favorable  to  the  offer  of  Champaign  county.  In  the  papers 
of  the  state  during  the  latter  part  of  January,  1865,  many  arti- 
cles appeared  discussing  the  whole  subject  of  the  agricultural 
college.  The  Central  Illinois  Gazette  among  other  things  in 
defense  of  Champaign  county  said : 

"The  fight  upon  the  location  of  the  proposed  Agricultural 
College  has  opened  in  earnest  and  Champaign  county  is  receiving 
from  jealous  towns  and  the  thousand  lot  and  land  speculators  in 
other  parts  of  the  State  a  tremendous  shower  of  epithets  and 
kicks  now,  that  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Illinois,  she 
has  the  temerity  to  show  her  face  in  the  city  when  the  wisdom 
of  the  State  biennially  assembles,  and  for  the  first  time  asks  for 
herself  a  favor.  Stock  jobbers  and  professional  thieves  who  have 
all  their  life  time  hung  about  the  capital  and  fattened  upon  the 
taxes,  paid  by  us,  in  common  with  the  people  of  the  state,  Avelcome 
the  representatives  of  our  county  with  contemptuous  jeers  for 
making  a  bid  for  the  University,  which  at  once  commands  the 
respect  and  commendation  of  the  legislature  and  every  disin- 
terested person  about  the  capital.  The  self  appointed  agricul- 
tural committee,  who  in  defiance  of  the  plain  designs  of  nature, 
arrogate  to  themselves  all  the  wisdom  suited  to  the  purposes  of 
the    proposed  institution  in  the  State,  flutter  and  fight,  and  in 

"Central  Illinois  Gazette,  January  27,  1865. 


^! 


< 


K 


>'',•<*      -^ 


Illinois  Considers  Disposition  of  Donation  209 

turn  denounce  and  slander  us  for  daring  to  come  at  once  before 
the  representatives  of  the  people  and  ask  that  the  State  accept  the 
handsome  gift  tendered  by  our  county  thus  refusing  the  medi- 
atorship  of  their  graces.  Political  mendicants  who  have  looked 
to  such  occasions  as  this  for  opportunities  to  set  themselves  up 
for  sale  to  towns  asking  for  the  location  of  a  State  Institution, 
snap  and  snarl,  curse  and  swear,  because  our  proposition  looks 
to  a  settlement  of  the  question,  by  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  in  a  fair  and  open  manner,  thus  cutting  off  their  oppor- 
tunity, as  members  of  the  proposed  locating  commission,  of  re- 
ceiving themselves  from  rival  towns  the  money  which  should 
go  for  the  benefit  of  the  Institution,  instead  of  towards  the 
purchase  of  these  men  who  are  always  in  the  market  for  such 
occasions. 

The  Gazette  in  the  same  article  scored  the  Cliicago  Tribune 
for  favoring  the  commission  plan  of  locating  the  college.  The 
Illinois  State  Journal  printed  an  article  about  the  same  time 
written  by  a  friend  of  the  agriculturists  that  declared  the  Tri- 
hune  was  on  both  sides  of  the  fence.  The  author  thought  the 
Tribune  was  right  on  one  point,  the  location  of  the  college  by  a 
commission.  On  this  point  the  writer  aimed  a  fiery  shaft  at 
Champaign  county :  ' '  Indeed  the  only  opposition  to  this  feature 
of  the  House  bill,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  has  emanated  from  an 
effort  at  town  lot  speculation  some  years  ago,  on  a  naked  tract 
of  land  lying  between  Champaign  and  Urbana,  in  the  East  part 
of  the  State.  A  certain  company,  it  seems,  undertook  some  years 
ago  to  lay  that  tract  off  in  lots,  and  bring  them  into  market  by 
building  on  it  a  school  or  seminary  of  some  sort.  They  have 
since,  in  some  way,  transferred  their  rights  to  Champaign 
County,  and  made  that  county  the  ostensible  profferers  of  the 
donation.  It  is  a  quite  respectable  bid,  for  the  first  time.  But 
it  probably  does  not  amount  to  one  half  the  amount  of  money 
which  the  location  of  the  University  there  will  give  of  additional 
value  to  their  naked  town  lots,  aside  from  all  its  other  advantages 
to  the  place.  Of  course  these  bidders  are  exceedingly  jealous 
of  throwing  the  thing,  in  any  way,  open  to  the  public,  and  partic- 
ularly jealous  of  town  lot  speculators  in  Chicago  and  elsewhere. 
They  keep  a  troop  of  men  here  lobbying  for  their  interests,  all 


210  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  time.  They  labor  particularly  to  show  that  the  Governor  and 
Senate  cannot  be  trusted  to  select  one  man  from  each  Congres- 
sional District,  to  decide  on  the  location  of  the  Institution,  guard 
and  define  their  action  by  law  as  we  may;  while  their  bill  pro- 
poses that  this  same  Governor  and  Senate  shall  appoint  the 
Trustees  to  manage  the  vast  accumulating  interests  of  the  Uni- 
versity, in  all  coming  time.  All  the  old  friends  of  the  grant, 
and  all  the  constructive  and  appointed  representatives  of  the 
industrial  classes,  the  officers  of  their  societies,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  teachers  in  the  state,  and  the  committee  who  drew 
the  House  bill,  are  opposed,  to  a  man,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  this 
whole  proceeding. ' ' 

Later  in  this  session  of  the  legislature  the  Chicago  and  Cham- 
paign interests  united  in  a  plan  to  divide  the  proposed  institu- 
tion. Representative  Cook  of  Cook  county  on  February  10  intro- 
duced a  substitute  to  section  11  of  the  house  bill  that  was  in  fact 
only  an  addition  to  the  section  as  it  then  stood  and  as  quoted 
above.  It  provided  that  the  trustees  of  the  industrial  university 
which  w^as  to  be  located  in  Urbana-Champaign  should  be 
''required"  to  establish  a  department  in  the  city  of  Chicago  for 
the  purpose  of  teaching  the  mechanic  arts  and  that  they  have  the 
"authority"  to  establish  a  department  to  teach  agriculture  at 
"some  time"  at  "some  place"  in  southern  Illinois.^^  These 
loosely  worded  but  carefully  planned  paragraphs  might  have 
been  used,  as  it  was  claimed,  to  sell  out  the  southern  friends  of 
the  measure,  though  whether  that  was  the  purpose  would  be 
difficult  to  establish.  The  adjournment  of  the  legislature  with- 
out deciding  the  question  of  the  location  of  the  industrial  uni- 
versity^ was  unfortunate,  for  it  prolonged  an  unseemly  scramble 
of  Illinois  men  to  obtain  control  of  a  prize  that  was  intended 
to  benefit  all  the  people.  It  was  particularly  unfortunate  because 
it  had  drawn  into  the  struggle  some  of  the  men  of  Illinois  who, 
through  long  years  of  sacrifice  and  labor,  had  made  the  grant 
to  all  the  states  possible.  The  straggle,  however,  was  only  fairly 
begun.  The  next  two  years  were  to  be  utilized  by  the  various 
contestants  in  preparation  for  the  inevitable  "  fight- to-a-finish  " 
upon  the  question  of  the  final  disposition  of  Illinois'  share  in 
the  federal  land  grant. 

'^Ilouse  Journal,  1865,  p.  808. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  211 


CHAPTER  IX 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  FINAL  STRUGGLE 

FOR  THE 

LOCATION  OF  THE  INDUSTRIAL  UNIVERSITY 

1865-1867 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  general  assembly  in  1865  the 
various  parties  in  the  contest  for  the  location  of  the  industrial 
university  were  busy  putting  up  their  own  fences  and  knocking 
the  props  from  under  those  of  their  adversaries.  Party  lines 
were  by  this  time  very  sharply  drawn  and  the  differences  in 
principles  or  mere  desires  of  the  contestants  were  capable  of 
definite  statement. 

The  Champaign  county  group  earnestly  desired  to  have  the 
industrial  university  located  in  the  Urbana-Champaign  insti- 
tute, and  they  preferred  to  have  an  undivided  institution 
located  in  the  seminary  building,  but  if  they  could  not  get  the 
whole  they  were  equally  determined  to  get  a  half  or  even  a 
third.  There  was  a  certain  bull-dog  tenacity  of  purpose  in 
their  efforts  that  boded  ill  for  their  opponents.  The  agricul- 
turists' group  was  headed  by  Turner  and  the  leaders  in  the 
state  agricultural  and  horticultural  societies.  Some  of  them, 
who  had  been  leaders  in  the  movement  for  industrial  education 
ever  since  the  Granville  convention  of  1851,  could  not  help  the 
feeling  and  belief  that  they  had  a  kind  of  proprietary  right  in 
this  proposed  university,  the  very  possibility  of  which  had  been 
due  in  a  large  measure  to  their  foresight  and  energy.  They  had 
fought  and  would  continue  to  fight  as  a  unit  for  a  separate  and 
distinct  institution  supported  by  undivided  funds.  They 
agreed  that  the  best  method  of  locating  the  institution  was  by 
a  commission,  but  they  disagreed  necessarily  on  the  question  of 
place,  for  the  members  were  scattered  through  the  state  and 
local  interests  made  such  appeal  that  the  members  were  unable 
to  stand  as  a  unit  opposed  to  Champaign  county.     The  group 


212  Ilislorij  lJniversit]f  of  Illinois 

of  college  men,  composed  mostly  of  the  presidents  of  the  col- 
leges, had  striven  for  years  to  get  the  state  to  appropriate  the 
college  and  seminary  funds  to  their  needy  institutions.  They 
had  zealously  opposed  the  plan  of  the  industrial  league  for  an 
industrial  university  in  Illinois  and  for  each  of  the  states,  and 
to  them  it  had  seemed  an  absurd  dream,  as  undesirable  as  im- 
practicable. But  the  dream  realized,  the  funds  available,  they 
had  no  objections  to  have  a  portion  appropriated  to  the  insti- 
tutions over  v^hich  they  presided.  Then,  too,  they  had  an  abid- 
ing faith  in  their  own  ability  to  carry  on  educational  affairs, 
but  none  in  the  state.  Other  groups  organized  later  for  the 
chief  purpose  of  making  bids  for  the  location  of  the  university. 

With  the  renewal  of  activity  by  the  various  factions  in  the 
contest,  feeling  became  more  intense  and  the  expression  of 
resentment  very  vigorous.  In  declaring  the  attitude  of  Cham- 
paign county  the  Gazette  said:  "The  enemies  of  Champaign 
county  may  perhaps  think  that  the  failure  of  our  county  to 
secure  the  location  of  the  Industrial  University  is  in  effect  their 
final  triumph  and  the  sharks  who  had  hung  like  vultures  upon 
the  flanks  of  the  legislature  for  years,  under  the  various  guises 
of  agricultural  and  educational  committees,  may  likewise  think 
the  fund  sacredly  dedicated  to  industrial  advancement  will,  like 
well  ripened  fruit  fall  into  their  basket. 

' '  They  will  however,  observe  in  due  time,  that  their  fancied 
security  is  but  an  illusion.  The  beautiful  sti-ucture  offered  by 
our  county  is  rapidly  approaching  completion  and  will,  in  a 
finished  condition,  lose  none  of  its  claim  upon  the  attention  of 
the  State.  It  will  commend  itself  to  our  law-makers  as  just  the 
place  to  rock  the  great  enterprise  in  its  infancy.  The  contest 
during  the  past  winter  in  which  the  friends  of  our  county  have 
been  engaged,  has  been  but  the  school  of  preparation  for  the 
final  contest ;  and  while  our  enemies  have  been  putting  forth 
their  best  efforts  to  secure  the  temporary  success  which  acciTied 
to  them  finally  by  default,  our  friends  have  not  exhausted  their 
preliminary  tactics.  "^  From  the  above  and  from  later  state- 
ments in  local  papers  it  was  quite  evident  that  Champaign  county 
Avas  so  certain  of  winning  the  location,  that  she  determined  to 

Central  Illinois  Gazette,  Urbana,  March  31,  1865. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  213 

negotiate  at  once  for  the  purchase  of  the  seminary  building  and 
grounds. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors  on  March  20,  1865, 
Stoughton  and  Babcock  appeared,  supposedly  on  invitation  of 
the  board,  and  submitted  a  proposal  to  sell  the  institute  building 
for  $30,000.  The  proposition  was  laid  on  the  table  until  the 
June  meeting,  and  then  postponed  from  meeting  to  meeting  for 
more  than  a  year.  The  supervisors  felt  now  that  matters  could 
be  safely  delayed,  for  they  knew  that  the  "elephant,"  as  the 
institute  was  termed  by  its  enemies,  could  not  get  up  suddenly 
and  walk  away.^ 

By  September,  1866,  the  time  for  definite  action  had  arrived, 
for  in  a  few  months  the  legislature  would  assemble  again.  For 
the  purpose  of  getting  things  under  way  Supervisor  Cosgrove 
invited  C.  R.  Griggs  of  Urbana  to  address  the  board  at  its  meet- 
ing of  September  12  in  regard  to  the  location  of  the  proposed 
industrial  university,  after  which  Cosgrove  offered  the  following 
resolutions : 

"Resolved,  That  the  proposition  now  on  file  with  the  clerk 
of  this  Board  of  Messrs.  Stoughton  and  Babcock,  for  the  sale  of 
the  building,  known  as  the  Urbana  and  Champaign  Institute  mth 
its  adjacent  grounds  made  to  this  Board  at  the  session  held  in 
Sept.  A.  D.  1865,  dated  Sept.  11,  1865  be  accepted  and  that  said 
building  be  offered  to  the  State  of  Illinois  for  the  purpose  of  the 
Industrial  University. 

"Resolved,  That  a  sum  not  exceeding  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  be  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  said  build- 
ing, a  farm  for  the  use  of  said  Industrial  University  and  for  the 
purpose  of  bearing  such  other  expenses  necessarily  involved  in 
securing  the  location  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  in  this 
county 

"Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  resolutions  and  appropria- 
tions are  to  be  made  upon  the  express  condition  that  the  said 
Industrial  University  be  located  in  this  county  by  the  Legisla- 
ture at  its  next  session. 


^Record  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  III:  365  June  6,  1865,  and  Sep- 
tember 13,  1865,  p.  385. 


214  History  Universii!/  of  Illinois 

"Resolved,  That  this  Board  appoint  a  committee  to  take 
charge  of  all  appropriations  made  by  this  Board,  and  that  said 
committee  be  held  responsible  to  and  accountable  for  all  monies 
committed  to  its  charge  and  amenable  to  this  Board  for  all  ex- 
penses incurred  by  it. 

"Whereupon,  Supervisor  Condit  offered  the  following  sub- 
stitute : 

"Resolved,  That  the  question  of  appropriating  funds  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  the  location  of  the  Agricultural  College 
in  Champaign  County  be  submitted  to  the  legal  voters  of  said 
county  at  a  special  election  to  be  held  on  the  10th  day  of  October 
next,  at  which  election  ballots  shall  be  provided  on  which  shall 
be  written  or  printed,  'For  Agricultural  College'  or  'Against 
Agricultural  College.'  "^ 

The  substitute  resolution  was  adopted  and  then  Supervisor 
Cosgrove  offered  the  following  which  was  also  adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  should  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  at  said 
election  as  authorized  in  the  above  resolution  be  found  '  For  Agri- 
cultural College'  then  and  in  that  case  the  resolutions  above 
offered,  by  Supervisor  Cosgrove  are  adopted  by  this  Board  and 
the  appropriation  of  One  Hundred  Thousand  dollars  ($100,000) 
is  hereby  made  for  said  Agricultural  College  by  this  Board." 

In  accordance  with  the  above  resolutions  the  question  at 
issue  was  submitted  to  the  voters  of  Champaign  county  at  an 
election  held  on  October  10,  with  the  result  that  4,601  voted  for 
the  college  and  1,085  against  the  college ;  a  majority,  therefore, 
of  3,516  was  in  favor  of  bonding  the  county  to  the  extent  of  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  this  amount,  by  reason  of  the 
resolution  passed  by  the  board,  was  appropriated  for  an  agricul- 
tural college. 

On  December  4,  1866,  the  board  met  again  and  appropriated 
five  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  "cautiously  and  judi- 
ciously "  by  a  committee  of  three  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the 
location  of  the  agricultural  college  in  Champaign  county.^  The 
preamble  to  the  resolution  stated  that  the  towns  of  Urbana  and 

*Eecord  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  111:482,  September  12,  1866. 
*Eecord  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  111:487,  December  4,  1866. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  215 

Champaign  had  recently  appropriated  five  hundred  dollars  for 
the  location  of  the  agricultural  college,  and  that  a  like  sum  had 
been  donated  by  citizens  of  the  towns  for  the  same  purpose. 
Meanwhile  some  newspapers  in  eastern  Illinois  were  publishing 
articles  in  support  of  Champaign  county.  The  Wahash  Valley 
Times  of  Paris,  Illinois,  in  a  lengthy  article  favoring  Champaign, 
propounded  this  question:  "Is  it  possible  that  the  people  of 
the  east  half  of  Illinois  are  to  be  denied  equitable  rights  in  the 
dispensation  of  favors  and  the  West  and  North  to  appropriate 
all?"  ^  The  Danville  Commercial  came  up  to  the  same  general 
level  in  its  issue  of  November  22,  1866.  It  said :  ' '  Inasmuch  as 
everybody  else  will  grab,  we  are  not  in  favor  of  standing  back  on 
dignity.  We  shout  for  Champaign.  It  is  just  as  good  as  any 
other  place — better  than  most.  Let  the  entire  fund  be  expended 
at  one  point,  and  let  it  be  given  to  a  portion  of  the  State  which  is 
ready  to  do  as  much  as  any  other  and  which  has  never  yet  been 
granted  the  least  crumb  of  public  favor. ' ' 

The  CJiampaign  County  Union  and  Gazette  in  commenting 
on  the  article  in  the  Commercial  made  this  statement,  somewhat 
startling  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  division  of  funds  which  it 
80  uncompromisingly  condemned  had  been  attempted  by  Cham- 
paign county  in  the  bill  it  supported  before  the  legislature  the 
year  before :  ' '  We  agree  with  the  ' '  Commercial ' '  as  regards  the 
attempts  of  the  Professors  of  the  various  colleges,  to  divide  the 
funds,  and  thus  rob  the  agriculturists  of  the  benefit  designed  by 
the  Government.  No  words  of  ours  can  express  the  contempt 
with  which  we  regard  the  movers  of  this  project.  It  exhibits  a 
selfish,  grasping  character,  that  stops  at  nothing  short  of  the 
accomplishments  of  its  own  ends,  the  rights  and  interests  of 
others  ruthlessly  disregarded. ' '  ^  From  this  statement  it  is  ap- 
parent that  nothing  short  of  the  whole  loaf  would  now  appease 
the  gnawing  appetite  of  the  Champaign  contingent. 

The  Cliicago  Journal,  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  Cham- 
paign, gave  way  to  its  imagination  in  the  f  ollo^ving :  ' '  The  gen- 
eral appearance  of  the  county  (Champaign)  is  unsurpassed  in 
the  West,  for  the  beauty  of  its  landscape,  the  richness  and  variety 

'Wabash  Valley  Times,  October  13,  1865. 

^Champaign  County  Union  and  Gazette,  November  30,  1866. 


216  History  University  of  Illinois 

of  its  soil,  interspersed  with  groves  of  fiiie  timber,  and  streams 
of  pure  water.  Tlie  'big  grove'  containing  thirteen  thousand 
acres  of  fine  timber,  is  within  half  a  mile  of  the  college  building." 
In  regard  to  Champaign's  offer  of  an  institute  building  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  the  writer  was  equally  optimis- 
tic. It  will  add  he  said,  to  the  federal  grant ' '  in  buildings,  lands, 
and  money,  what  could  not  now  be  furnished  for  five  liwndred 
thousand  dollars,"  ^ 

Inasmuch  as  the  items  of  the  offer  as  then  proposed  actually 
cost  the  county  a  few  months  later  only  fifty-five  thousand  dollars, 
one  can  judge  of  the  extravagant  statements  then  floating  about. 
The  Union  and  Gazette  copied  the  entire  article  from  the  Journal 
— perhaps  with  the  purpose  of  spreading  the  good  news  abroad 
and  to  furnish  some  amusement  to  the  citizens  in  the  quiet  of 
their  homes. 

During  the  autumn  of  1866  preparations  of  another  kind 
were  entered  upon  that  were  to  prove  most  decisive  for  Cham- 
paign's interests.  A  movement  had  been  started  for  a  railroad 
from  Danville  through  Urbana  and  Bloomington  to  Pekin,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1866  a  committee  of  citizens  was  formed 
for  each  of  the  two  cities  to  push  the  matter.  The  members  of 
the  committees  were  Judge  J.  0.  Cunningham,  Colonel  Sheldon, 
Henry  Miller,  Dr.  J.  W.  Scroggs,  M.  L.  Dunlap,  Colonel  Busey, 
Dr.  Parks,  Judge  Sims,  Messrs.  Cosgrove,  Gardiner,  Shirfy,  and 
Helberstadt.  They  needed  an  executive  agent  and  on  looking 
over  the  field  they  chose  one  of  their  own  citizens,  Clark  Robinson 
Griggs.  In  the  fall  of  1866  the  district  republican  convention 
was  held  in  Urbana,  and  through  the  influence  of  this  joint  com- 
mittee Mr.  Griggs  w^as  nominated  for  state  representative,  to 
which  office  he  was  elected  in  November.  Thus  connection  was 
made  between  Mr.  Griggs,  the  railw^ay  and  the  legislature,  the 
importance  of  which  will  appear  later.  According  to  Mr.  Griggs' 
own  statement,  confirmed  by  Judge  Cunningham,  shortly  after 
his  election  he  set  out  on  a  quiet  tour  of  the  state,  interviewing 
members  of  the  low^er  house  in  an  effort  to  pledge  votes  to  Cham- 
paign county.  He  avoided  Jacksonville,  Lincoln,  and  Bloom- 
ington, not  wishing  to  put  these  cities  on  their  guard.     In  the 

'Copied  in  ibid.,  December  7,  1866. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  217 

course  of  five  weeks  he  thus  interviewed  nearly  forty  members 
out  of  a  total  of  eighty-five,  and  secured  pledges,  slightly  if  at  all 
qualified,  from  perhaps  fifteen.  At  the  capital  he  made  himself 
acquainted  wdth  Governor  Oglesby  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
Bross,  both  of  whom  listened  to  him  with  interest.  As  the  next 
step  was  vital  in  the  later  success  of  Champaign  county  it  is  best 
to  let  Mr.  Griggs  describe  it.  He  said  many  years  later  that  he 
"saw  the  Republican  State  Chairman,  Mr.  Babcock,  and  the 
Democratic  State  Chairman  and  induced  them  to  become  paid 
servants  of  the  Champaign  County  Committee."^  The  money 
to  finance  such  propositions  had  already  been  raised  in  Cham- 
paign county,  in  part  at  any  rate,  therefore,  Mr.  Griggs  was  con- 
scious that  whenever  his  persuasive  tongue  failed  to  win  over 
those  whose  influence  he  needed,  he  had  other  means  at  hand  that 
were  even  nyore  effective.  Other  things  were  done  on  this  trip 
about  the  state  that  give  an  insight  into  the  shrewd  methods 
employed. 

In  his  tour  Griggs  learned  that  a  greater  number  of  special 
interests  would  be  before  the  coming  session  of  the  legislature 
than  ever  before  in  Illinois  history:  Chicago  was  anxious  to 
secure  legislation  in  regard  to  Jackson  and  other  parks  and  the 
boulevard  system,  and  for  the  deepening  of  the  Chicago  river ; 
southern  Illinois  wanted  a  projected  new  penitentiary ;  Peoria 
and  Springfield  were  rivals  for  the  new  state  house,  although  it 
was  commonly  felt  that  Peoria  had  little  chance.  He  noted  these 
ambitions  as  useful  in  future  bargaining.  At  Pekin  and  at  Dan- 
ville he  urged  that  the  location  of  the  college  at  Urbana  would 
assist  the  prosperity  of  the  railway  then  planned.  Elsewhere  he 
pointed  out  that  Jacksonville  already  had  a  number  of  institu- 
tions of  a  charitable  sort,  that  Bloomington  had  the  normal  cob 
lege,  that  Chicago  would  grow  fast  enough  without  such  a  gift, 
and  that  none  of  the  cities  could  offer  such  agricultural  advan- 
tages as  Urbana-Champaign. 

No  other  county  made  a  similar  preliminary  canvass.  Cham- 
paign county  sent  delegates  to  conventions  and  kept  in  touch  with 
the  agricultural  and  horticultural  societies,  and  although  they 

'From  a  memorandum  by  Clark  E.  Griggs;  manuscript  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois,  appendix,  p.  515. 


218  History  University  of  Illinois 

won  little  sympathy  and  comfort  from  these  associations,  they 
were  kept  well  informed  as  to  what  was  going  on.  In  these  var- 
ious ways  the  county  made  preparations  for  the  contest. 

During  the  early  summer  of  1865  the  agriculturists  were 
resting  on  their  oars.  A  letter  from  Turner  to  John  P.  Reynolds, 
secretary  of  the  state  agricultural  society,  July  23,  reveals  his 
disgust  at  the  proceedings  of  the  last  legislature.  In  a  jesting 
manner  he  said  that  he  had  stood  for  principles  long  enough  he 
was  now  going  in  wholly  for  profit,  adding:  "But  more  seriously 
my  dear  friend,  let  us  thank  God  and  take  courage,  and  still 
'  Keep  our  powder  dry, '  in  that  the  great  state  of  New  York  has 
accepted  the  magnificent  offer  of  Mr.  (Ezra)  Cornell,  of  Ithaca, 
of  $500,000,  and  has  thus  located  its  University  there  with  a  fair 
start  of  a  million  and  half  of  dollars."  He  then  asks  Reynolds 
to  send  Mr.  Cornell  the  last  agricultural  society  report  and  any 
others  that  would  throw  light  upon  these  industrial  matters,  and 
urged  Reynolds  also  to  include  in  the  forthcoming  report  of  the 
society  an  article  on  the  real  origin  and  general  history  of  the 
industrial  education  movement  in  Illinois.  He  reiterated  what 
he  had  said  a  number  of  times :  ' '  This  whole  matter  was  really 
begun  and  urged  on  to  its  present  position  by  citizens  in  our  own 
State. ' '  ^  Later  he  himself  wrote  the  suggested  article  in  the 
form  of  a  letter  which  was  published  in  the  transactions  of  the 
society  and  is  invaluable  for  a  tnie  understanding  of  the  early 
work  of  the  Illinois  men. 

In  a  letter  to  Reynolds  a  few  weeks  later  Turner  declared 
that  they  must  work  together  to  bring  Illinois  ' '  up  to  her  duty 
before  God  and  man ' '  and  that  he  hoped  the  state  would  do  even 
better  than  New  York.^"  In  August  George  W.  Minier  wrote 
Turner  ' '  "We  must  remodel  our  Legislature  or  we  will  all  go  to 
the  mischief."  ^^  The  next  month  these  men  were  in  action. 
On  September  8,  1865,  the  executive  board  of  the  state  agricul- 
tural society  met  in  Chicago  and  on  motion  of  G.  W.  Minier  it 
was  resolved  that  the  board  recommend  that  a  convention  of 
agriculturists,  mechanics,  and  manufacturers  of  the  state  be 

^Turner  to  Eeynolds,  July  23,  1865,  Turner  manuscripts. 

"August  3,  1865,  Turner  manuscripts. 

"August  4,  1865,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-186?  219 

called  to  assemble  at  Bloomington  to  consider  the  measures  to 
secure  the  proper  location  of  the  college  in  a  fair  and  impartial 
manner.  In  consequence  of  this  recommendation  John  P.  Rey- 
nolds, on  behalf  of  the  executive  board  issued  a  call  for  a  conven- 
tion at  Bloomington  on  December  14,  1865.  It  was  suggested 
that  members  of  every  county  agricultural  and  mechanical  asso- 
ciation in  Illinois,  assemble  at  their  respective  headquarters  and 
select  three  delegates  to  represent  them  in  the  convention.  In 
counties  where  no  such  organization  existed,  it  was  thought  that 
the  board  of  supervisors,  county  court,  or  mass  meeting  of  the 
friends  of  the  cause  might  properly  appoint  delegates.  "The 
only  serious  question  to  be  yet  decided  by  the  people  in  such  man- 
ner that  their  representatives  in  General  Assembly  shall  be  left 
without  excuse  for  not  regarding  it,  is.  How  shall  the  proposed 
College  be  located?  Not  where  shall  it  be  located,  but  How,  so 
that  no  lingering  shadow  of  just  cause  of  complaint,  in  that  re- 
gard, shall  be  left  to  any  section,  locality,  community,  sect,  party 
or  institution  within  the  bounds  of  the  state."  ^^ 

The  method  proposed  for  obtaining  a  representative  con- 
%'ention  was  democratic,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  including  the 
industrial  classes  or  elements  of  the  population,  the  only  ones 
that  had  any  moral  right  under  the  circumstances,  according  to 
the  leaders  of  this  group,  to  determine  what  should  be  done  with 
the  proceeds  of  the  federal  grant. 

As  a  result  of  the  call  a  convention  organized  at  Blooming- 
ton,  December  14,  1865,  Vvith  John  H.  Brj^ant  of  Bureau  as 
president  and  J.  C.  Conklin  of  Springfield  as  secretary.  Twenty- 
six  of  the  one  hundred  and  two  counties  in  the  state  were  repre- 
sented; vice-presidents  were  selected  from  each  of  the  congres- 
sional districts.  On  motion  of  0  B.  Galusha,  a  committee  of  five 
was  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  for  the  consideration  of  the 
convention,  which  committee  consisted  of  J.  B.  Turner,  0.  B. 
Galusha,  G.  W.  Minier,  Henry  Tubbs,  and  A.  R.  IMc^Iasters. 
It  was  decided  that  each  delegate  in  the  convention  be  allowed  to 
cast  one  vote  and  that  all  persons  present  who  were  not  delegates 
be  invited  to  take  part  in  the  discussions  of  the  convention.  The 
committee  appointed  for  the  purpose  presented  the  following 
resolutions : 


^Prairie  Farmer,  October  14,  1865. 


220  History  Universiti/  of  Illinois 

"Resolved,  That  whereas  the  true  principles  of  education 
like  the  true  principles  of  civil  government,  every  where  require 
the  greatest  practicable  union,  co-operation  and  concentration 
in  all  its  higher  departments,  combined  with  the  utmost  practi- 
cable diffusion  in  the  lower  departments.  Therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  State  of  Illinois  should,  at  present  at- 
tempt to  build  only  one  university  of  the  highest  order,  and  that 
the  energies  and  resources  of  our  people  should  now  be  directed 
to  that  one  end,  and  the  undivided  funds  of  our  congressional 
grant  be  appropriated  thereto. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  of  the  principles  of  location 
adopted  by  former  State  conventions,  and  presented  to  the  State 
Legislature  at  its  last  session  by  the  committee  of  the  State  Agri- 
cultural Society. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  of  the  general  principles 
adopted  and  approved  by  all  parties  at  the  last  session  of  the 
Legislature,  that  in  preparing  the  charter  for  the  University  all 
mere  details  of  organization  and  government  should  be  left  to  the 
future  necessities  of  the  institution,  the  direction  of  the  people, 
and  the  existing  Board  of  Trustees,  and  that  the  charter  of  the 
University  should  limit  their  freedom  only  on  those  points  indis- 
pensable to  a  fundamental  law. 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  urge  these 
views  upon  the  next  Legislature. 

"Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  the  people  the  necessity  of 
keeping  the  principles  embodied  in  these  resolutions  before  aspi- 
rants to  office,  and  that  they  emphatically  reprobate  any  man  as 
a  candidate  for  the  Legislature  who  is  unfavorable  to  these  views. 

"Resolved,  That  we  request  the  Chicago  and  Springfield 
papers,  and  all  others  in  the  State,  to  publish  the  proceedings  of 
this  Convention." 

Jonathan  Turner,  in  presenting  the  above  resolutions  stated 
that  the  committee  emphatically  endorsed  the  action  taken  by  the 
agricultural  committee  last  Avinter,  and  approved  the  bill  which 
it  presented  for  the  action  of  the  legislature,  but  which  was  de- 
feated by  combinations  which  were  familiar  to  the  readers  of  the 
Tribune  and  other  papers. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  221 

After  the  reading  of  the  federal  land  grant  act  of  1862  and 
the  bill  submitted  to  the  last  legislature  by  the  agricultural  com- 
mittee, the  convention  entered  upon  a  discussion  of  the  resolu- 
tions. Among  those  who  declared  themselves  in  favor  of  a  single 
institution  and  the  resolutions,  were  Smiley  Shepard  of  Putnam 
county,  Mr.  Sanford  of  Grundy,  J.  B.  Turner  of  Morgan,  0.  B. 
Galusha  of  Gnindy,  and  W.  Martin  of  Knox.  N.  C.  Meeker  of 
Dongola  announced  that  he  was  in  favor  of  two  agricultural  col- 
leges, owing  to  the  differences  in  climate  and  soils  in  the  state. 
"W.  H.  Pierce  of  Champaign  declared  himself  opposed  to  the  third 
resolution  for  he  believed  the  question  of  the  location  of  the 
university  belonged  to  the  legislature  and  not  to  a  commission. 
Finally  the  resolutions  were  adopted  as  a  whole,  after  which  0. 
B.  Galusha  offered  the  following  which  was  also  adopted  by  the 
convention : 

"Resolved,  That  the  committee  who  have  presented  the  re- 
port before  this  meeting  shall  constitute  the  committee  contem- 
plated in  the  resolutions,  and  that  we  instruct  them  to  secure  the 
revision  of  the  bill  presented  to  the  Legislature  of  this  state  at 
its  last  session  by  a  committee  appointed  by  a  convention  of  the 
people  of  this  State,  and  cause  1,000  copies  of  the  bill  to  be 
printed ;  also,  that  they  be  instructed  to  secure  the  appointment 
of  sub-committees  in  each  of  the  representative  and  senatorial 
districts  of  this  State,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  present  a  copy  of 
said  bill  to  each  and  eveiy  person  whose  name  shall  be  before  the 
people  as  a  candidate  for  nomination  to  the  offices  of  Representa- 
tive and  Senator  to  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  and  shall 
receive  the  public  pledges  of  such  candidates  for  nomination  that 
they  will  use  all  laudable  endeavors,  if  nominated  and  elected,  to 
secure  the  passage  of  said  bill ;  and  that  in  case  any  candidate 
shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  give  such  pledge,  such  sub-committee 
shall  publish  the  fact  of  such  refusal  throughout  the  district  in 
which  such  candidate  resides  through  the  newspapers  published 
therein. "  ^^ 

The  Tribune  called  this  convention  the  "Bloomington  anti- 
monopoly  convention,"  ^^  while  the  Central  Illinois  Gazette  con- 

"CMcago  Tribune,  December  15,  1865. 
^*Chicago  Tribune,  December  20,  1865. 


222  iri.storjj  Univcrsihi  of  Illinois 

denined  the  ' '  self  appointed  guardians  of  the  industrial  interests 
of  Illinois."  "The  convention,"  it  asserted,  was  a  "packed 
affair  from  beginning  to  end, ' '  and  that  a  scheme  was  hatched  for 
packing  the  next  legislature. i'* 

Champaign's  committee,  sent  by  the  board  of  supervisors  to 
this  Bloomington  convention,  made  its  report,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Union  and  Gazette,  March  2,  1866.  In  this  report 
they  condenmed  the  second  and  fourth  resolutions  of  the  conven- 
tion and  stated  that  other  parts  of  the  state  did  the  same.  They 
remarked  on  the  small  attendance,  only  24  out  of  102  counties 
represented,  and  on  the  general  spirit  of  the  convention.  They 
objected  to  Turner's  assumption  that  his  views  should  dominate 
the  next  legislature.  Finally,  they  urged  the  necessity  of  taking 
action,  and  mentioned  among  other  things  that  some  of  the  coun- 
ties wishing  the  location  did  not  expect  it  and  would  yield  their 
claim  to  Champaign,  and  other  counties  if  convinced  that  they 
could  not  obtain  it,  would  shift  their  support  to  Champaign,  and 
lastly,  that  Champaign  county  should  be  vigilant  and  should 
expend  money,  if  necessary,  promptly  and  without  stint.^'' 

Another  side-light  on  this  convention  is  furnished  by  the 
report  of  the  Mercer  county  committee  to  the  convention.  It 
commented  on  the  earnestness  and  unanimity  of  the  members 
and  the  determination  that  the  next  legislature  should  not  use 
these  industrial  matters  "as  a  mere  log-rolling  measure."  ^^ 
The  comment  by  the  Prairie  Farmer  was  similar  in  spirit  on  these 
points  for  it  urged,  also,  that  the  people  should  see  to  it  that 
members  for  the  legislature  were  selected  who  should  "be  ready 
and  willing  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  those  by  whom  the  move- 
ment was  begun  and  for  whose  benefit  the  fund  was  donated."  ^^ 

Although  the  college  men  had  received  little  attention  at  the 
session  of  the  legislature  in  1865,  they  had  not  given  up  hope. 
On  October  5,  1866,  an  informal  meeting  of  several  college  pres- 
idents was  held  in  Chicago  and  it  was  decided  that  a  meeting 
of  all  the  college  presidents  of  the  state  was  desirable.     A  com- 

^^Central  Illinois  Gazette,  Urbana,  December  22,  1865. 
"The  report  is  printeil  in  the  apiiomlix,  p.  481. 
''Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society,  Transactions,  6:240. 
^Prairie  Farmer,  December  23,  1865,  October  20,  1866. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  223 

mittee  was  then  appointed  and  a  letter  was  sent  to  each  president 
inviting  him  to  be  present  at  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Burroughs, 
president  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  on  the  29th  of  October, 
to  discuss  among  other  subjects,  the  propriety  of  a  joint  appli- 
cation to  the  state  legislature  for  aid  to  the  colleges,  the  college 
and  seminary  funds,  and  the  agricultural  college  fund  of  this 
state.  In  response  to  the  call  an  important  meeting  of  college 
presidents  was  held  on  October  29  and  30  in  Chicago.  At  the 
first  meeting  Reverend  J.  Blanchard,  who  was  elected  temporary 
chairman,  made  the  following  significant  statement :  "  It  is  not 
the  desire  of  the  meeting  to  attack  in  any  manner  any  legislation 
made  respecting  the  endov/ment  of  land  for  a  State  Agricultural 
College."  19  The  necessity  for  the  remark  is  found  in  the  ex- 
planation that  no  attacks  could  possibly  avail  and  besides  the 
college  men  would  now  be  glad  to  share  in  the  benefits  of  the 
federal  grant  which  had  been  made  for  the  industrial  classes. 
The  conference  then  appointed  a  committee  on  ''legislative  aid" 
which  made  some  definite  and  comprehensive  recommendations. ^o 
The  committee  thought  the  colleges  should  ask  the  legislature  to 
allow  them  something  for  the  education  of  the  state  troops  whom 
the  colleges  had  not  charged  for  tuition  when  these  had  entered 
the  colleges  on  their  return  f  rom'  the  civil  war.  The  committee 
declared  the  college  men  had  seen  the  college  fund  first  borrowed 
by  and  afterward  devoted  to  the  common  schools  of  the  state  in 
the  normal  university,  and  had  made  no  complaint  because  they 
were  friends  of  the  common  schools.  In  regard  to  what  the  law 
of  1862  for  a  federal  grant  to  agricultural  colleges  really  pro- 
vided, the  committee  argued :  ' '  the  idea  of  the  law  is  plainly  that 
though  Rhode  Island  may  need  one  College,  the  large  states  will 
need  more.     Hence  the  phrase  'at  least  one  college.' 

"Under  this  law  Massachusetts  has  connected  its  share  of 
this  fund  with  Amherst — Rhode  Island  with  Brown — Ncav 
Hampshire  its  share  with  Dartmouth — and  Connecticut  with 
Yale ;  and  besides  that  those  legislatures  doubtless  understand  the 
law.     There  seems  to  your  committee  no  difference  in  principle 

^^Chicago  Tribune,  October  30,  1866. 

^The  committee  consisted  of  Reverend  R.  AUyn  of  McKondree  college, 
Reverend  J.  Blanchard  of  Wheaton  college,  and  Reverend  W.  S.  Curtis  of 
Knox  college. 


224  History  University  of  Illinois 

between  one  connecting  this  fund  with  a  college  or  colleges 
already  built,  and  connecting  it  \vith  a  new  college  after  it  shall 
bo  built. 

"Now  your  committee  are  not  in  favor  of  connecting  this 
vast  fund  with  one  college  in  one  locality,  for  many  reasons, 

"1.  Such  single  college  and  its  model  farm  can  only  repre- 
sent the  soil,  crops,  season,  atmospheric  changes,  etc.,  of  one  spot 
in  a  state  running  thru  five  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude  on  our 
globe. 

"2.  Such  single  colleges  will  teach  only  some  three  or  four 
farmers'  sons  to  each  of  our  counties,  if  it  teaches  even  one  to  a 
county. 

"3.  Such  single  colleges  must  either  exclude  Christianity 
entirely,  and  so  be  either  atheist  or  pagan,  or  if  it  admits  Christi- 
anity at  all,  it  must  support  that  form  of  Christianity,  which  it 
admits  with  our  State  fund,  and  so  be  a  cause  of  jealousy  and 
wrangling  among  sects,  and  political  parties. 

' '  Your  committee  therefore  think  that  our  State  Legislature 
should  by  this  fund,  and  a  small  additional  appropriation  if 
needed,  boldly  attempt  to  teach  agriculture  and  mechanics  in 
eveiy  considerable  college  in  this  state,  instead  of  teaching  all  the 
various  branches  of  a  college  education  in  one  college. 

''Some  of  our  reasons  are: 

"1.  The  fund  is  adequate,  or  nearly  so.  Two  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  fifteen  hundred  for  the  Professor,  and  five  hun- 
dred for  his  books  and  tools,  would  respectably  support  an  Agri- 
cultural department  in  a  college. 

"2.  By  establishing  a  central  board,  or  college,  with 
branches,  the  Legislature,  Avithout  meddling  with  the  religion  of 
the  existing  colleges,  could  forever  retain  control  of  the  agricul- 
tural fund,  and  drop  at  will  any  branch,  in  any  institution,  which 
should  be  found  unworthy  or  incompetent. 

"3.  And  then  such  a  diffused  college,  with  branches  set  in 
the  different  colleges  throughout  the  State  would  teach  Agricul- 
ture or  mechanics,  one  or  both,  to  all  our  youth,  male  or  female, 
who  in  coming  generations  shall  frequent  these  colleges,  and  thus 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  225 

agriculturize  the  education  and  educationize  the  agriculture  of 
the  state,  which  was  and  is  the  object  of  the  bill  creating  this 
fund. 

' '  4.  And  finally  by  a  small  model  farm  connected  with  each 
college  for  trees  and  flowers  with  a  few  acres  for  experiments 
in  soils  and  crops  which  fann,  like  public  parks  will  be  places  of 
popular  resort.  The  art  of  agriculture  will  be  placed,  as  it 
ought  to  be  in  the  fore  front  of  the  educational  forces  of  the  whole 
state.  Each  religious  denomination  satisfied  with  its  just  and 
equal  treatment  by  the  state,  will  have  no  motive  to  plot  or 
wrangle;  a  wholesome  rivalry  without  the  possibility  of  conflict 
will  incite  each  to  excel  the  other  in  eariying  out  the  objects  of 
the  fund,  and  courtesy  and  kindness  in  the  intercourses  of  annual 
meetings  will  perpetually  soften  denominational  peculiarities 
without  weakening  the  denominational  attachment  to  the  truth 
as  each  conceive  it.  The  meeting  of  the  college  officers  with  the 
farmers  at  our  state  fairs  in  connection  with  which  the  Agricul- 
tural College  should  meet,  will  give  each  the  benefit  of  each  oth- 
er's scholarship  and  strong  sense,  and  thus  make  us  homogeneous, 
intelligent  people,  and  so  more  than  any  other  agency  contribute 
to  the  true  greatness  and  glory  of  the  state."  ^^  The  report  of 
the  committee  brought  forth  earnest  discussion  from  the  eight 
college  presidents  in  attendance,  and  much  comment  in  the  press 
of  the  state  upon  their  action  and  their  statements. 

Dr.  Sturtevant,  president  of  Illinois  college,  who  was  not 
present  at  the  convention  was  sharply  criticised  by  the  presidents 
of  the  colleges  for  his  attitude  of  opposition  to  the  purposes  of 
the  college  men.  They  accused  him  of  siding  with  the  people, 
the  common  school  men  and  the  state  authorities  against  the  col- 
leges. ' '  From  this  simple  statement,  it  will  be  seen, ' '  remarked 
the  Jacksonville  Baity  Journal,  ''that  these  learned  college  pres- 
idents have  made  out  a  very  bad  case  against  themselves  and 
their  colleges." 

The  argument  of  the  college  committee  in  favor  of  dividing 
the  funds  and  establishing  a  professorship  of  agriculture  in  each 
of  the  colleges  of  the  state,  sounds  absurd  at  present,  and,  fortu- 

"Chicago  Tribune,  October  31,  1866, 


226  Hisfof])  Univcrsi{!j  of  Illi)iois 

nately,  there  were  those  who  saw  its  absurdities  clearly  at  that 
time.  The  Jacksonville  Daily  Journal  for  example,  said  in  ex- 
posing the  weakness  of  the  proposition  of  the  college  men : 
* '  From  so  much  of  their  action  as  looks  to  a  division  of  the  agri- 
cultural college  fund,  and  its  appropriation  to  a  number  of 
existing  colleges,  in  the  form  of  one  professorship  to  each,  we 
must  respectfully  dissent.  Our  general  views  on  the  agricultural 
college  question  were  expressed  during  the  last  session  of  the 
legislature,  and  we  have  no  good  reason  to  change  them.  In  our 
opinion  the  agricultural  fund  should  be  invested  in  establishing 
the  highest  course  of  free  instruction  in  those  branches  of  science 
'  Avhich  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts, '  and  not 
in  adding  a  professor  of  agriculture  or  agricultural  and  mechan- 
ical science,  to  existing  institutions.  If  the  entire  fund  were 
added  to  some  existing  college,  giving  it  a  great  superiority  in 
those  branches  of  instiniction  as  could  be  attained  by  judicious 
application  of  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land  grant,  we 
can  conceive  that  the  spirit  of  the  law  might  be  thus  carried  out, 
though  such  a  plan  would  not  be  free  from  objections  of  a  de- 
nominational nature.  But  to  divide  the  fund  into  fractions,  and 
make  a  certain  number  of  existing  colleges  a  trifle  more  efficient 
than  they  are  now,  in  respect  to  scientific  studies,  and  not  one 
of  them  preeminently  so,  seems  to  us  equally  at  war  with  the 
spirit  of  the  law  and  Avith  the  best  interest  of  the  state.  The  law 
certainly  requires  that  the  'leading  object'  of  the  college  or  col- 
leges established  by  the  congressional  grant,  shall  be  to  teach 
those  branches  which  are  related  to  agriculture  and  mechanic 
arts.  How  the  'leading  object'  of  any  existing  college  would  be 
changed  by  the  addition  of  one  professorship  in  the  manner  sug- 
gested we  do  not  perceive,  nor  can  we  see  how  it  would  be  worth 
while  for  any  existing  college  to  change  its  object  for  so  small  a 
compensation. ' '  22 

There  appeared  during  the  month  of  November  in  the 
Chicago  Tribune  a  series  of  articles  by  President  Blanchard  in 
defense  of  the  colleges  and  their  plan  to  divide  the  agricultural 
college  fund.  His  argument  for  the  division  of  the  funds  was 
as  follows:  "The  effect  of  the  diffused  plan  must  begin  on  the 
^Jadcsonville  Journal,  November  2,  1866. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  227 

whole  of  the  educational  forces  of  the  state.  It  will  agrieulturize 
education  and  educationize  agriculture.  If  we  have  one  single 
Agricultural  College  fixed  like  a  plant  to  one  particular  spot,  it 
must  be  like  West  Point,  essentially  aristocratic.  Three  or  four 
farmers'  sons  taken  perhaps,  by  favoritism  from  each  of  our 
hundred  counties  would  fill  the  institution,  and  thus  educate  only 
ten  where  the  diffused  plan  would  educate  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands. For  most  of  the  existing  colleges  have  academic  or  mis- 
cellaneous departments  where  a  majority  of  the  neighboring 
youth  attend  during  some  part  of  their  school  life.  All  these 
multitudes  would  therefore,  hear  lectures  if  not  recite  lessons 
in  agriculture. 

''And  then  if  we  have  but  one  institution  and  that  filled 
with  young  men,  w^hy  should  our  daughters,  who  had  their  rep- 
resentative by  the  side  of  Adam  in  the  first  garden  ever  culti- 
vated by  human  hands,  why  should  our  daughters  be  counted  out 
when  fields  and  fruits  and  flowers  are  the  lessons  of  the  school  ? 
Many  of  our  colleges  are  mixed,  educating  the  sexes  together, 
and  if  our  State  will  bless  this  institution  with  Agricultural 
teachings,  both  sexes  will  get  the  benefit  of  it,  and  our  State  will 
be  the  mother  of  our  daughters  as  well  as  our  sons. 

**And  why  should  our  noble  State  by  setting  up  another 
college  and  taking  our  text-books  of  botany,  chemistry,  geology, 
and  mathematics  (for  no  one  supposes  that  new  books  are  to  be 
written  throughout  for  a  single  Agricultural  College)  why  should 
our  State  take  our  text-books  and  set  up  another  college  in  rival- 
ship  of  existing  colleges,  and  thus  become  their  declared  rival 
instead  of  their  mother  and  nurse?  Forgetting  the  hundreds 
and  hundreds  of  both  sexes  in  their  preparatory  and  academic 
as  well  as  higher  departments,  some  have  sneered  at  our  colleges 
as  making  only  "doctors"  and  "laA\yers"  and  so  call  them  pro- 
fessional colleges. 

"But  supposing  it  were  so ;  is  that  a  good  reason  for  keeping 
agriculture  out  of  them?  If  our  colleges  are  already  monastic 
and  professional  is  that  a  good  reason  for  making  them  more  so 
by  sending  our  farmers  to  one  school  and  everybody  else  to 
others?  It  seems  to  me  this  complaint,  if  true,  should  lead  the 
complainers  to  our  conclusion  instead  of  theirs,  to  wit :  that  the 


228  Ilifitory  University  of  Illinois 

science  of  the  soil,  like  its  flowers,  should  grow  in  all  gardens 
instead  of  being  shut  up  in  one."  ^3 

President  Blanchard's  articles  in  the  Tribune  "Sectarian- 
ism in  colleges,"  "The  agricultural  college,"  and  others  of  sim- 
ilar nature  brought  forth  vigorous  replies  both  from  editors  and 
from  farmers.  A  writer  from  Morrison,  Illinois  in  the  Tribune 
of  November  fifth,  under  the  name  of  "A  Farmer"  made  the 
following  points  among  others  equally  keen:  "I  believe  in 
churches,  and  am  in  favor  of  theological  institutions  being  under 
the  control  of  their  respective  conferences,  synods,  and  assem- 
blies ;  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  denounce  evei'ji;hing  not  under 
denominational  control  as  'atheistical  or  pagan.'  Are  our  insti- 
tutions for  the  instructions  of  the  blind,  and  the  deaf  and  the 
dumb,  atheistical  or  pagan?  Without  mentioning  our  common 
schools  and  our  city  graded  and  high  schools,  is  our  State  Normal 
University  atheistical  or  pagan?  I  have  noticed  the  teachers 
that  graduate  from  that  institution  and  must  confess  that  they 
are  morally  and  religiously  fully  equal  to  the  average  of  gradu- 
ates from  our  denominational  colleges  and  seminaries.  The 
heterodox  President  of  Lombard  University  must  have  felt  fool- 
ish during  this  discussion,  knowing  that  these  very  sticklers 
would  rule  his  institution  ungodly,  though  under  denominational 
rule.  But  what  would  this  central  College  or  Corporation  that 
they  propose  to  have  established  as  the  Agricultural  College  of 
the  State  be  ?  Would  not  its  huge  atheistic  shadow  poison  and 
contaminate  the  branches? 

"The  present  anxiety  and  agitation  of  the  Presidents  are 
small  matters  compared  with  what  would  happen  were  they  to 
succeed  in  the  division  of  the  spoils.  Academies  and  seminaries 
would  pitch  in  for  their  share  and  perhaps  compete  successfully 
^^'ith  one  or  two  institutions  represented  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Presidents. ' ' 

The  discussion  with  the  college  presidents  in  Illinois  at- 
tracted attention  outside  the  state.  Suel  Foster  of  Iowa  who 
had  corresponded  with  Turner  years  before  in  order  to  get  the 
benefit  of  his  ideas  and  advice  on  the  establishment  of  an  insti- 
tution in  Iowa  wrote  to  the  Prairie  Farmer:  "How  singular  to 
'^Chicago  Tribune,  November  2,  1866. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  229 

the(  intelligent  reader  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  the  proceedings  of 
these  learned  men."  Mr,  Foster  accused  the  presidents  of  mis- 
quoting the  law  of  1862  in  omitting  the  word  "leading"  from 
the  sentence  "support  and  maintenance  of  at  least  one  college 
where  the  leading  object  shall  be.  "-^  Mr.  Foster  defended 
Turner  against  the  charge  of  prejudicing  the  farmers  against  the 
colleges. 

Mr.  Turner  in  a  letter  to  the  Prairie  Farmer  in  January, 
1867,  discussed  fully  the  question  of  the  intent  of  the  law,  the 
relations  of  the  college  to  the  college  and  university  fund,  his 
own  attitude,  and  much  of  the  history  of  the  movement.  The 
statement  of  Turner  is  so  illuminating  and  reviews  the  whole 
subject  so  thoroughly  that  it  is  given  in  full :  ' '  The  convention 
of  Presidents  at  Chicago  seemed  to  complain  that  the  people  and 
the  common  schools  are  hostile  to  the  colleges.  And  as,  in  some 
of  their  published  strictures,  I  am  especially  included  among 
the  list  of  opponents,  I  deem  it  important  to  inquire  into  the 
cause  of  that  supposed  hostility. 

"The  great  good  which  existing  colleges  have  done  to  the 
people  of  Illinois  I  presume  no  sensible  man  would  question; 
certainly  I  do  not.  It  is  not  needful  to  disparage  sickles,  flails 
and  carts,  because  we  now  need  reapers,  threshers  and  locomo- 
tives, even  though  the  former  have  gone  wholly  out  of  use,  which 
our  colleges  have  not  done,  and,  I  trust  may  never  be  compelled 
to  do. 

"But  whether  the  political  state,  as  such,  is  bound  to  pay 
those  colleges  for  the  good  they  have  done  or  are  now  doing, 
either  in  part  or  in  whole,  as  these  gentlemen  assume  in  the  re- 
port, is  quite  another  question.  Our  manifold  churches,  schools, 
academies,  workshops  and  farms,  imperfect  as  they  still  are,  have 
done  immense  good  to  the  State ;  but  if  the  State  as  such  should 
therefore  assume  to  foot  their  bills  for  them,  in  part  or  in  whole, 
it  would  strike  not  a  few  '  unlearned '  people  that  our  taxes  might 
become  inconveniently  high. 

"Now,  it  is  the  obvious  disposition  to  urge  this  absurd 
claim,  that  has  done  more  to  render  some,  though  not  all  of  the 
colleges  obnoxious  to  the  people  of  this  State  than  all  other 

'^Prairie  Farmer,  November  24,  1866. 


230  History  Univei'sity  of  Illinois 

causes  combined.  When  any  number  of  men  at  their  own  free 
will  and  accord  commence  any  enterprise  in  the  State  however 
needful  and  good,  independent  of  all  legislative  control,  and  pri- 
marily designed  to  promote  their  own  peculiar  personal,  or  edu- 
cational, or  religious  views  and  ends,  it  is  self-evident  that 
\vhether  such  an  enterprise  may  result  well  or  ill  to  the  public,  it 
can  lay  no  shadow  of  a  joint  claim,  either  legally  or  morally,  on 
the  treasury  of  the  State.  No  State  can  possibly  undertake  to 
discharge  any  such  debts.  It  does  indeed  sound  very  strange  for 
learned  and  sensible  men  to  come  forward  and  urge  such  claims 
upon  our  legislators,  on  the  express  ground  that  the  people  and 
the  common  schools  of  the  State  are  hostile  to  them.  My  general 
experience  and  observation  has  been,  that,  legislators  are  not  very 
apt  to  jump  aboard  of  a  ship,  simply  because  they  are  told  that 
it  is  sinking.  However,  these  are  revolutionary  times,  and  we 
do  not  know  what  strange  leaps  men  may  take. 

' '  The  reason  of  the  hostility  of  the  common  schools  towards 
colleges  so  far  as  it  exists,  is  equally  apparent.  These  gentlemen 
still  affect  to  lay  legitimate  claim  to  the  old  '  College  or  Univer- 
sity' fund  of  the  State,  which  was  some  years  ago  in  part  given 
to  the  interest  of  the  common  schools  to  endow  the  State  Normal 
University.  They  say  in  their  report :  '  The  friends  of  colleges 
in  this  State  have  stood  silent,  though  neither  dead  nor  sleeping, 
and  have  seen  the  income  of  this  College  Fund  devoted  to  the 
common  schools  of  the  State,  in  the  Normal  University.'  Now, 
Messrs.  Editors,  many  of  our  citizens  well  recollect  that  while 
this  old  college  fund  was  being  disposed  of,  at  all  our  called  con- 
ventions, at  all  our  meetings  with  the  legislature,  wherever  we 
met,  we  were  sure  also  to  meet  the  attorneys  and  representatives 
of  some  of  these  same  old  colleges,  and  sometimes  the  Presidents 
and  Professors  of  the  colleges  themselves,  most  vehemently  urg- 
ing their  claims  to  these  same  funds,  and  on  precisely  the  same 
grounds  they  now  take.  I  was  never  in  Springfield  in  my  life 
w^hen  any  portion  of  these  funds  was  in  issue,  but  what  I  met 
more  or  less  of  them,  as  our  most  vehement  and  bitter  opponents ; 
and  if  they  had  had  their  way  the  common  schools  would  have 
had  no  State  school  for  teachers,  and  the  State  would  have  had 
no  Normal  University  to  this  day :  and,  long  before  this,  the  funds 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  231 

by  which  it  was  endowed  would  have  been  frittered  away  among 
some  twenty  or  more  of  these  colleges,  catholic  and  protestant,  to 
no  good  purpose  whatever ;  for  the  funds  so  divided  could  neither 
have  done  them,  nor  anybody  else  any  real  good.  Moreover,  if 
I  do  not  distinctly  remember  meeting  each  of  the  authors  of  this 
strange  report  at  Springfield,  at  different  times,  on  this  same 
errand  for  funds,  I  certainly  dreamed  it  so  very  distinctly  that  it 
seemed  a  reality  to  me  ever  since,  and  I  presume  many  others  can 
testify  that  they  have  had  the  same  remarkable  dreams.  Now,  if 
this  is  what  these  gentlemen  call  'silent,  dead  and  sleeping,"  etc., 
I  hope,  for  Heaven's  sake,  they  will  wake  up  this  winter ;  for  I  am 
curious  to  see  what  they  will  do  when  they  are  wide  awake,  alive 
and  kicking!  If  ever  a  single  dollar  of  State  school  funds  has 
ever  gone  out  of  the  State  Treasury  that  these  same  friends  of  the 
old  colleges  have  not  been  after  'with  a  sharp  stick'  I  know  not 
where  it  has  gone  to.  The  public  papers  of  those  days  are  filled 
with  notices  of  their  efforts  in  this  regard ;  so  that  their  present 
action  is  only  the  same  old  story  over  again. 

"Again,  in  spite  of  their  persistent  opposition,  and  con- 
tempt, and  ridicule,  the  friends  of  the  industrial  classes  have, 
after  years  of  patient  labor,  secured  this  Congressional  grant; 
while  their  old  fogy  opponents  were  everywhere,  year  after  year, 
denouncing  their  efforts  as  'radical,'  'revolutionary,'  'chimeri- 
cal,' 'visionary,'  'quixotic,'  and  'absurd,'  just  as  they  now  de- 
nounce all  legitimate  and  proper  modes  of  organizing  and  using 
the  fund,  now  it  is  secured.  But  the  fund  is  now  on  hand,  and 
it  had  not  had  time  to  cool,  after  its  arrival  in  Springfield,  before 
these  same  old  college  parties,  in  one  shape  or  another,  were  on 
hand,  the  same  as  before,  to  gobble  it  up. 

"As  already  intimated,  in  my  opinion,  our  existing  colleges 
never  had  the  least  shadow  of  claim  to  either  of  those  funds, 
either  legal  or  moral.  The  first,  or  old  college  fund,  was  given  by 
Congress  to  endow  colleges  or  universities  under  state  or  legisla- 
tive control,  and  not  under  mere  denominational  or  independent 
corporate  control,  of  whatever  kind  the  states  might  prefer ;  or, 
in  other  words,  it  was  given  to  the  state  as  a  whole,  and  not  to  any 
independent  sect,  party,  or  interest  in  the  state,  however  good. 
Against  the  persistent  efforts  of  these  same  parties  (though  made, 


282  History  University  of  Illinois 

as  it  now  seems,  in  a  sort  of  fit  of  sonnanibulism,  and  not  at  all 
consciously),  our  Legislature  chose  to  endow,  out  of  this  fund,  a 
state  university  for  our  common  school  teachers,  under  their  own 
control.  This  second,  or  last  fund — the  present  university  fund 
— was  granted  to  our  state  in  answer  to  an  express  petition,  by 
joint  resolution  of  our  Legislature,  in  February,  1853,  asking 
that  Congress  would  donate  public  lands,  not  less  in  value  than 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  each  state,  '  for  the  liberal  en- 
dowment of  a  system  of  industrial  universities,  one  in  each  state 
of  the  Union. '  (I  quote  from  the  petition  itself.)  Such  was  the 
object  sought;  and  such  was  the  onl}^  intention  of  the  grant,  ex- 
cept that  it  was  thought  that  some  of  the  older  and  richer  states, 
like  New  York,  which  had  one  or  two  agricultural  colleges,  might 
desire  to  found  more  than  one.  But  nobody,  who  knew  anything 
about  it,  supposed  that  this  grant  itself  would  fully  and  properly 
endow  even  one. 

' '  Now,  is  there  a  man  on  the  continent  Avho  does  not  know 
that  if  either  of  these  Congresses  had  been  asked  for  grants  to 
enlarge  and  complete  the  endowments  of  mere  denominational 
colleges,  outside  of  state  control,  or  that  if  we  had  gone  to  Con- 
gress with  this  scheme  of  these  presidents,  all  hatched  out  and 
pinfeathered  and  flying  ablaze  as  it  is,  not  one  single  solitary  vote 
for  such  a  grant  could  have  been  obtained  on  either  plan  ?  Nay, 
no  single  representative  would  have  hazarded  his  good  name  by 
even  proposing  such  a  bill.  What,  worse  than  idle  mockery  it  is, 
to  pretend  that  any  such  scheme  is  an  honest,  and  due  ,and  proper 
use  of  the  fund,  now  it  is  obtained.  Is  the  great  state  of  Illinois 
reduced  to  the  shameful  necessity  of  obtaining  funds  on  false 
pretexts  ? 

"We  need  no  further  proof  of  the  utter  incapacity  of  these 
gentlemen  to  manage  these  funds  than  their  own  published  re- 
ports give  us.  They  evidently  have  no  just  conception  of  what 
the  fund  is  really  for,  nor  of  the  primal  uses  to  which  it  should 
be  put.  For  this  they  are  not  blameworthy,  for  it  lies  wholly 
out  of  the  line  of  their  experience  and  action.  But  if  they  can't 
eat  the  hay  themselves,  they  should  quietly  let  the  ox  eat  it.  If 
the  state  listens  to  their  advice  now,  a  few  years  hence  it  will  have 
no  state  university,  as  it  would  have  had  no  normal  university 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  233 

under  the  same  guidance.  The  miserable  sham  which  they  pro- 
pose is  not  worthy  of  the  name  of  an  university.  It  would  be  a 
disgrace  to  any  people  who  should  inaugurate  it.  Just  look  at 
it:  More  than  a  round  hundred  corporators,  gathered  promis- 
cuously, by  a  sort  of  accidental  drag-net,  from  all  classes,  pro- 
fessions, and  conditions  in  life,  without  the  least  possible  regard 
to  their  knowledge  of  educational  interests,  and  set  to  do  what  ? 
Why,  simply  to  dole  out  and  watch  the  miserable  pittance  of  two 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  distributed  among  some  twenty  or  more 
rival  colleges  agreed  in  nothing  but  a  present  want  of  funds. 
Who,  thereupon,  are  to  teach  '  agriculture  and  mechanics,  one  or 
both,  to  all  our  youth,  male  and  female?'  (I  quote  from  the 
report  itself.)  'It  is  so  nominated  in  the  bond.'  What  troops 
of  crinoline  carpenters  and  farmers  the  state  would  then  have! 
Outdoor  labor  would  then  be  nothing  but  one  everlasting  honey- 
moon ;  and  all  sorrow  and  tears  as  well  as  all  university  funds, 
would  soon  fly  away. 

* '  Of  all  the  strange  and  uncouth  and  unlawful  schemes  that 
have  anywhere  been  proposed  for  utterly  wasting,  and  worse  than 
wasting  ,these  noble  state  funds  in  the  several  states,  I  think  this 
the  worst  of  any  one  I  have  seen.  I  hardly  know  which  would 
be  most  disgraceful :  for  the  state  to  grant,  or  for  any  college  to 
accept  of,  such  a  miserable  pittance,  on  any  such  conditions.  If 
Massachusetts  has,  as  reported  in  the  papers,  already  utterly 
wasted  the  income  of  her  endowments  on  one  college,  that  is  no 
reason  why  Illinois  should  worse  than  waste  hers  on  twenty 
others.  After  all  this,  can  we  wonder  that  the  people  and  the 
common,  schools  of  Illinois  are  becoming  hostile  to  some  of  their 
colleges?  They  must  have  been  possessed  of  something  more 
than  African  patience  not  to  be  so. 

**But  if  this  university  fund  was  let  alone,  and  suffered  to 
be  quietly  applied  to  the  great  industrial  interests  for  which  it 
was  intended,  and  as  it  was  intended,  it  would  never  harm  the 
colleges  in  their  chosen  proper  sphere.  It  would  only  facilitate 
and  enhance  their  real  usefulness  and  prosperity.  And  at  this 
point  President  Wallace,  of  Monmouth,  is  entirely  in  the  right, 
and  seems  to  have  some  just  and  adequate  conception  of  what  the 
fund  is  really  for.    We  do  not  propose  to  meddle  with  their  time- 


234  History  University  of  Illinois 

honored  '  curriculum, '  as  it  is  called.  Whatever  there  is,  either 
of  good  or  of  evil,  in  that,  we  propose  to  leave  wholly  to  them  in 
all  coming  time.  We  oppose  it  only  as  a  thing  that  we  neither 
need  nor  want.  We  will  leave  it  wholly  and  quietly  to  them. 
Indeed,  our  proposed  charter  forever  prohibits  us  from  giving 
the  degrees  to  which  it  implies,  and  we  desire  that  it  should. 
But  we  insist,  on  the  other  hand,  that  they  should  leave  us  to  do 
our  own  pixjper  work,  and  organize  our  own  proper  school  in  our 
oAvn  way ;  and  if,  with  such  advice,  as  we  desire  to  ask,  we  have 
not  sense  enough  to  do  it,  it  will  be  our  own  fault.  Their  com- 
ments on  our  plan  seem  to  show  that  they  have  no  idea  how  we 
want  them  to  organize,  even  after  we  have  told  them.  For  ex- 
ample, they  seem  to  understand  our  proposed  system  of  volun- 
tary' experiments,  through  our  county  superintendents,  as  so 
many  branches  or  departments  of  the  university,  while  they  rep- 
resent their  OAvn  schemes  as  a  scheme  of  union  and  concentration. 
It  is,  indeed,  the  same  sort  of  concentration  that  a  brisk  north- 
wester gives  to  an  open  bag  of  feathers. 

' '  I  have  no  hostility  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages, 
or  any  other  language  which  any  one  desires  to  learn.  I  have 
studied  them  some  myself,  and  so  have  several  of  my  children ; 
but  I  do  not  like  to  see  people  run  stark  mad  over  a  Latin  gram- 
mar or  imagine  that  there  is  nothing  else  in  the  world  that  can 
properly  discipline  the  human  mind. 

''The  time  was  when  all  literature,  and  all  known  science 
such  as  it  was,  was  locked  up  in  these  languages  alone,  there  were 
no  books  of  any  sort  in  the  English  tongue.  Of  course  these 
languages  were  then  not  only  practical,  but  they  were  as  utterly 
indispensable  as  the  alphabet  or  the  spelling  book  are  now  to  all 
classes  of  scholars  alike.  I  can  myself  very  well  remember  when 
social  custom,  and  formal  law  in  some  of  the  States,  rendered  it 
practically  impossible  for  any  man  to  gain  a  standing  in  any  pro- 
fession, or  to  get  into  any  high  public  office  of  any  sort,  who  was 
not  a  graduate  of  some  college.  So  long  as  this  aristocracy  of 
pedantry  could  be  kept  up,  of  course  these  languages  were  the 
most  useful  and  practical  to  all  men  who  aspired  to  any  mode  ot 
professional  or  public  life.  But  to  set  up  the  same  exclusive 
claims  for  them  now,  when  all  literature  of  all  languages,  and  all 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  235 

sciences,  have  been  translated  into  plain  English,  and  are  hawked 
about  at  our  very  doors,  and  when  all  offices  and  all  professions 
in  life  are  thro\vn  broadly  open  to  all  men,  and  w^hen  such  multi- 
tudes of  uneducated  men  as  they  are  called,  are  constantly  out- 
stripping, in  every  sphere  of  life,  our  so  called  educated  men,  is 
simply  ridiculous.  What  President,  even  of  a  college  on  this 
continent,  has  ever  met  with  greater  practical  success  than  the 
uneducated  but  world-renowned  Dr.  Nott,  of  New  York.  While 
Abe  Lincoln,  in  this  country,  and  John  Bright,  of  England,  are 
alone  (to  say  nothing  of  thousands  of  others  of  the  same  stamp) 
worth  all  the  graduates  that  have  come  out  of  old  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  for  the  last  half  century,  for  any  use  which  either  God 
or  man  has  to  make  of  humanity  here  on  earth.  I  am  perfectly 
\\dlling  still  to  let  Latin  and  Greek  do  all  they  can  in  the  world ; 
but  I  would  really  like  to  leave  a  chance  for  God  and  nature  to  do 
some  little,  too.  It  seems  to  me  that  they  have  a  right  to  do  this, 
whether  they  talk  Latin  or  English,  or  whether  they  have  taken 
the  degree  of  'Bachelor  of  Arts,'  or  'Doctor  of  Divinity'  or  not. 

"  It  is  not  therefore,  of  this  course  of  study,  in  itself  consid- 
ered, that  I  complain;  but  of  its  assumed  exclusiveness,  and  of 
the  supercilious  insolence  of  stigmatizing  in  this  age  of  the  world, 
all  men  as  uneducated  and  boorish,  from  Abe  Lincoln  up  through 
Washington,  even  to  Christ  and  his  Apostles  themselves,  who  do 
not  happen  to  have  been  ground  through  that  particular  mill. 
The  Divine  Providence  has  manifold  ways  of  educating  men  on 
earth,  and  doing  it  in  the  best  possible  manner,  too,  wholly  out- 
side of  any  conventional  curriculums  which  men  ever  did,  or  ever 
will  devise.  And  the  more  various,  and  free,  and  open  we  make 
all  our  modes  of  public  culture,  the  more  shall  we  elevate  the 
race  of  man  and  conform  to  His  eternal  kingdom  and  law ;  and, 
though  such  ideas  may  strike  some  as  '  Pagan  and  Atheistic, '  they 
seem  to  me  most  eminently  true  and  humane,  and  Christian  and 
devout — sanctioned  by  every  law  of  God  and  every  present  need 
of  man.  I  confess  I  know  little  about  this  great  enterprise  of 
properly  founding  a  State  University  for  all  the  teeming  and  on- 
coming millions  of  this  great  industrial  State  of  Illinois,  worthy 
of  herself  and  worthy  of  the  empire  and  the  age  to  which  she 
belongs.     I  expect  to  have  but  very  little  more  to  do  about  it; 


236  History  University  of  Tllinois 

but  I  think  I  know  that  the  way  to  sow  wheat  is  not  to  throw  it 
up  to  the  roof  of  the  barn  and  appoint  a  committee  to  hear  the 
doves  coo  as  they  pick  it  up  while  it  is  sliding  do^vn. 

"Whether  in  haranguing  the  farmers  and  mechanics  at 
Monmouth  for  an  hour  or  more  on  this  topic,  without  notes  or 
memorized  speech,  I  said  wise  things  or  foolish  things;  or 
whether  the  brief  report  of  that  speech  contained  the  almost  in- 
evitable amount  of  errors  and  misprints  or  not,  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  inquire.  The  people  of  Illinois  feel  very  little  interest 
in  anything  that  I  have  said,  or  may  hereafter  say,  unless  they 
feel  deeply  conscious  that  I  have  spoken  to  them  words  of  truth, 
that  affect  the  well  being  of  themselves  and  of  their  children 
after  them.  "25 

This  letter  from  Turner  was  published  after  the  session  of 
the  legislature  had  actually  opened,  and  it  made  complete  the 
victory  of  the  agriculturists  for  a  single  institution  and  an  undi- 
vided fund.  There  was  no  time  for  more  discussions  and  the 
college  men,  realizing  their  defeat,  made  no  concerted  attempt 
to  influence  the  legislature  then  in  session. 

Early  in  1866  Morgan  county  began  to  organize  its  resources 
with  a  view  of  making  a  bid  for  the  location  of  the  industrial 
university.  On  January  25  a  circular  letter  was  issued  setting 
forth  the  conditions  and  asking  cooperation  and  support  of  all 
citizens.  The  circular  was  signed  by  J.  B.  Turner,  Joseph  Mor- 
ton, and  William  Brown,  who  had  been  chosen  by  a  meeting  of 
citizens  of  Morgan  county,  as  a  central  committee  to  call  meetings 
in  different  precincts  and  to  inquire  how  best  to  obtain  coopera- 
tion in  the  county  and  in  the  state  to  secure  the  ends  proposed 
by  the  Bloomington  convention  of  December  14,  1865.2'^ 

The  circular  letter  stated  that  the  principles  upon  which  the 
university  was  to  be  chartered  were  well  understood  and  agreed 
upon  by  all  parties ;  that  the  difficulty  at  the  last  session  of  the 
legislature  was  not  on  the  question  of  principles  and  aims  but 
merely  as  to  where  the  university  should  be  located;  and  as 

'^Prairie  Farmer,  January  19,  1867. 

-'The  circular  letter  in  the  Turner  manuscripts  is  printed.  Turner  did 
not  know  at  this  time  what  the  college  presidents  would  attempt  by  the 
following  November.    See  a  Circular  Appendix,  p.  565. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  237 

all  counties  of  the  state  were  not  then  prepared  to  make  proposals 
it  had  been  deemed  wise  to  postpone  action  until  all  could  have 
a  fair  and  equal  chance. 

The  circular  said  that  Ezra  Cornell  had  given  three-fourths 
of  a  million  dollars  to  secure  the  location  of  New  York 's  univer- 
sity at  Ithaca;  that  Illinois  having  been  the  first  state  to  petition 
congress  for  an  appropriation  for  industrial  universities  should 
not  fail  to  build  up  an  institution  worthy  of  her  position.  After 
stating  in  a  general  way  what  they  thought  the  institution  would 
be  worth  to  any  county  that  secured  its  location  the  committee 
urged  that  Morgan  county  had  sufficient  resources  and  that  they 
hoped  citizens  would  meet  in  precinct  and  district  meetings  to 
discuss  the  subject  and  take  action. 

During  the  next  few  months  meetings  were  called  in  various 
precincts  of  Morgan  county  at  w^hich  members  of  the  central 
committee  and  others  addressed  the  citizens.  It  was  proposed 
to  vote  a  tax  of  $300,000  as  part  of  the  bid  of  Morgan  county  to 
secure  the  location  of  the  university.  On  Febniary  5,  1866, 
citizens  of  Jacksonville  met  to  discuss  the  means  of  securing  the 
location  of  the  university  in  Morgan  county.  Among  the  speak- 
ers were  Judge  Brown,  Colonel  G.  P.  Smith,  Dr.  Egan,  and  Dr. 
McFarland.  Turner  on  this  occasion  gave  a  talk  on  the  general 
plan  and  aim  of  the  industrial  university.  This  was  the  first 
time  he  had  said  anything  about  it  to  the  people  of  his  home  town 
though  he  had  been  lecturing  on  the  subject  in  other  counties 
of  the  state  for  nearly  twenty  years.  The  reason  for  this  was 
that' '  as  the  other  institutions  of  Jacksonville  once  stood ' '  Turner 
was  opposed  to  bringing  this  new  effort  under  their  social  in- 
fluence for  he  feared  they  would  attempt  to  crush  it  out  as  a 
rival.  He  was  now  convinced  that  this  Avas  not  the  case  and  that 
they  would  one  and  all  heartily  sustain  and  cherish  it.^''^ 

Various  papers  in  Morgan  county,  particularly  the  Jackson- 
ville Journal,  worked  earnestly  in  behalf  of  the  project.  On 
March  1st,  1866,  Colonel  G.  P.  Smith,  the  editor  of  the  Journal, 
published  a  sketch  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  industrial 
university  scheme.     The  article  argued  ably  for  the  education  of 

"The  address  was  published  in  the  Jaclsonville  Journal,  February  8, 
1866. 


238  Historx)  University  of  Illinois 

every  man  in  the  profession  or  business  of  his  life.  He  gave 
credit  to  his  fellow  to\\iisman  in  the  following  unmistakable 
terms:  "Professor  J.  B.  Turner  is  fairly  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  having  first  suggested  and  urged  the  founding  of  a  series  of 
great  colleges  or  universities  for  the  education  of  the  agricul- 
tural, commercial,  and  mechanical  classes  of  our  people  in  their 
various  callings.  For  a  year  or  two  his  views  made  but  little 
impression  upon  others ;  but  took  firm  and  fast  hold  upon  his  own 
mind  and  heart.  Becoming  thoroughly  in  earnest,  his  zeal  rather 
than  his  opinions  began  to  attract  attention. 

"It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  no  distinct  and  chrono- 
logical account  of  the  first  two  years  of  Professor  Turner's  labors 
in  behalf  of  this  scheme.  The  unwritten  history  of  nearly  all 
great  measures  is  generally  regarded  as  the  most  interesting  if 
not  the  most  important."  ^s  Colonel  Smith  continued  his  article 
by  giving  the  leading  events  in  this  early  movement  after  1851. 

Thus  by  means  of  articles  in  the  press  and  by  addresses  in 
numerous  meetings  the  effort  was  made  to  inforai  the  public  of 
the  importance  of  securing  the  university  for  Morgan  county. 
In  October  of  this  year  one  article  appeared  in  the  Jacksonville 
Journal  in  opposition  to  the  proposed  $300,000  tax.  The  editor 
of  the  Journal  said  that  it  was  the  first  article  that  had  appeared 
in  print  in  opposition  to  the  measure  and  that  he  regretted  it  was 
not  abler  and  more  truthful. 

The  vote  in  the  county  on  the  question  of  the  $300,000  tax 
came  not  long  afterward  and  to  the  surprise  of  Turner  and  his 
friends  the  measure  failed.  There  had  been  very  little  opposi- 
tion and  the  result  came  as  a  decided  shock  to  the  friends  of  the 
cause.  Their  only  explanation  was  that  many  did  not  really  un- 
derstand the  proposition. 

Follomng  this  public  agitation  in  Morgan  county  and  the 
failure  of  the  voters  to  sanction  the  tax  President  J.  M.  Sturte- 
vant  of  Illinois  college  wrote  Turner  under  date  of  December 
first  and  proposed  that  the  university  charter  be  so  framed  that 
it  would  permit  the  establishment  of  "As  many  colleges  in  con- 
nection with  it,  as  component  parts  of  it,  as  individuals  or  cor- 
porations may  choose  to  endow — said  courses  to  be  controlled  in 

^Jacksonville  Journal,  March  1,  1866. 


struggle  for  Location  1865-1867  289 

their  courses  of  study,  the  management  and  use  of  their  funds 
and  the  appointment  and  the  removal  of  teachers,  b}^  such  boards 
of  trust  as  the  Founders  may  severally  direct. ' '  This  plan  was 
further  elaborated  by  President  Sturtevant  in  letters  of  Dec.  21 
and  24,  both  of  which  seem  to  indicate  from  the  language  used, 
the  cooperation  of  Turner  in  the  plan.  President  Sturtevant 
admitted  that  he  was  assuming  the  responsibility  of  the  offer 
himself  without  the  consent  of  the  trustees  of  Illinois  college  and 
indeed  with  the  opposition  of  two  of  them.  This  plan,  which 
had  the  fatal  weakness  of  proposing  to  unite  an  old  institution 
with  a  new  one,  would  not  be  accepted  in  Illinois.  Morgan 
county 's  prospects  at  the  moment  seemed  hopeless  but  yet  in  the 
end  she  offered  a  bid  that  commanded  the  respect  of  all. 

During  the  year  1866  an  episode  occurred  that  threatened 
for  some  months  the  usual  harmony  among  agriculturists.  The 
delegation  of  the  Buel  institute  in  reporting  the  farmers'  con- 
vention held  at  Bloomington  in  December,  1865,  condemned  the 
action  of  that  body  in  throwing  the  meeting  open  to  all  who  de- 
sired to  participate  and  also  objected  to  leaving  to  the  discretion 
of  a  committee  the  calling  of  another  convention.  It  reminded 
the  executive  board  of  the  institute,  that  as  members  of  an  or- 
ganization that  had  given  the  first  active  impulse  to  the  idea  of  a 
practicable  and  scientific  educastion  for  the  laboring  classes,  they 
claimed  the  right  for  Buel  institute  to  issue  the  summons  for  a 
representative  convention  "to  prepare,  discuss,  and  adopt  a  form 
of  Charter  for  legislative  enactment,  suited  to  secure  the  end 
arrived  at  in  all  your  former  efforts. ' '  ^^ 

The  Prairie  Farmer  interpreted  this  report  to  mean  that  the 
Buel  institute  objected  to  the  bill  of  1865  drawn  up  by  the  agri- 
culturists. The  editor  defended  the  bill,  condemned  the  attitude 
of  the  Buel  institute,  and  opposed  the  assembling  of  another  con- 
vention, but  offered  to  publish  the  call  for  one  if  the  institute 
should  decide  to  send  it.  Already  the  Buel  institute  had  formu- 
lated plans  for  a  convention  and  early  in  August  the  summons 
went  forth  for  a  meeting  of  duly  appointed  delegates  at  Phoenix 
Hall,  Bloomington,  on  September  11,  1866.^0 

^Prairie  Farmer,  July  14,  1866. 

^^Bloomington  Pantagraph,  August  10,  1866;  Prairie  Farmer,  August  4, 
1866.  The  call  was  signed  by  the  committee:  Smiley  Shepherd,  Will- 
iamson Dudley,  and  Joshua  S.  W.  Mills. 


240  History  University  of  Illinois 

As  this  action  of  the  Bucl  institute  puzzled  Turner  he  wrote 
to  John  P.  Reynolds  to  inquire  what  it  really  meant.  Reynolds 
replied  in  a  humorous  vein  that  struck  close  to  the  truth :  ' '  From 
expressions  I  have  hitherto  heard  I  conclude  that  Buel  Institute 
regards  itself  as  the  father,  mother,  doctor,  nurse,  and  attendant 
of  the  baby  which  was  born  in  this  state  some  years  ago  and  was 
christened  'Education  of  the  Industrial  Classes'  and  is  jealous 
lest  historj'  shall  be  distorted  from  the  truth  so  far  as  to  record 
that  anybody  else  was  even  present  at  the  bornin'."  ^^ 

Turner  in  the  spirit  of  the  peacemaker  wi'ote  a  long  letter 
to  the  Prairie  Farmer  reviewing  the  actions  of  the  former  con- 
ventions and  showing  the  danger  of  appearing  before  the  next 
legislature  with  two  bills  emanating  from  the  farmers  and  me- 
chanics. He  did  not  question  the  right  of  the  Buel  institute  to 
summon  a  convention  but  he  did  question  the  wisdom,  the  expedi- 
ency, and  the  courtesy  of  it.  This  letter  had  the  desired  effect 
and  after  some  correspondence  and  explanations  the  Buel  insti- 
tute in  the  interests  of  harmony  gracefully  withdrew  the  call  for 
the  convention.32 


"Eeynolds  to  Turner,  August  7,  1866. 

'^Prairie  Farmer,  August  25,  September  8,  1866. 


The  University  Located  24 

CHAPTER  X 
CONTEST  IN  LEGISLATURE  OF  1867 

Much  preparation  had  been  made  during  1865  and  1866  by 
the  various  parties  for  the  concluding  struggle  over  the  question 
of  the  location  of  the  industrial  university.  It  seems  rather 
strange  that  McLean  county  and  Logan  county,  both  of  which 
finally  did  make  important  bids  had  made  up  to  January  1867 
no  public  preparation  for  the  final  contest.  At  the  opening  of 
the  session  of  the  legislature  on  January  7,  1867,  a  great  deal  of 
interest  was  manifest  on  the  question  whether  the  university 
should  be  located  directly  by  the  legislature  or  by  a  commission 
appointed  by  the  governor.  Champaign  and  her  champions 
maintained  that  the  time  was  past  for  locating  by  a  commission 
because  the  state  had  already  discussed  the  subject  for  two  years. 
The  agriculturists  thought  it  was  necessary  to  locate  the  univer- 
sity by  commission  in  order  to  secure  proper  consideration  of  the 
merits  of  various  locations  and  to  insure  honesty. 

On  the  question  of  the  date  upon  which  the  university  had  to 
be  established  in  order  to  fulfill  federal  conditions,  there  seems  to 
have  been  unaccountable  ignorance.  It  was  a  fact  that  all  inter- 
ested parties  should  have  known,  that  congress  had,  on  July  23, 
1866,  passed  an  act  extending  the  time  five  years  beyond  the 
date  set  in  the  law  of  July  2,  1862.  Those  wanting  direct  loca- 
tion by  the  legislature  ignored  this  act  of  congress  in  saying  that 
Champaign's  offer  was  superior  because  it  had  a  building  ready 
for  occupancy  at  once  while  there  was  no  time  to  erect  buildings 
before  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  by  congress. 

Some  of  the  leading  papers  of  the  state,  such  as  the  Cliicago 
Bcpuhlican,  Journal,  and  Post,  and  the  Sprvigfield  Journal  and 
Register  favored  Champaign.  They  argued  that  the  rest  of  the 
state  owed  it  to  the  eastern  portion  for  the  reason  that  it  had  not 
received  its  share  of  political  plums ;  that  Champaign  was  admir- 
ably situated  and  the  location  was  especially  appropriate  for  an 
agricultural  college;  and  that  such  a  generous  offer  deserved 
success.  1 


'See  Champaign  Union  and  Gazette,  January  4,  1867. 


242  History  Univcrsihj  of  IUi)iois 

The  statements  in  these  papers  in  regard  to  the  cost  of  the 
Urbana-Chanipaign  institute  building  varied  greatly  for  some 
reason.  The  Cliicago  Post  said  the  building  had  cost  $80,000  be- 
fore the  war  and  was  worth,  with  the  ten  acres  of  land,  at  least 
$150,000.  The  Chicago  Journal  said  the  building  had  been 
"erected  in  1861  at  a  cost  of  $175,000  when  labor  and  material 
were  worth  not  much  over  half  their  present  value."  The 
Springfield  Journal  estimated  Champaign's  offer  at  $500,000. 
These  extravagant  statements  may  have  influenced  the  mind  of 
the  public  but  did  not  deceive  the  legislature.  It  made  an  inves- 
tigation of  its  own  later  in  which  it  came  close  to  the  truth  in  re- 
gard to  the  value  of  the  various  offers.  What  the  legislature  did, 
it  did  with  real  knowledge  of  the  situation. 

On  Champaign's  activity  in  Springfield  at  the  opening  ses- 
sion in  1867,  there  is  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Griggs,  the  acknowl- 
edged leader,  who  is  responsible  for  the  substance  of  the  follow- 
ing statements.  The  legislature  opened  the  first  Monday  in 
January,  1867.  The  Champaign  county  committee,  at  Mr. 
Grigg's  prompting,  had  prepared  for  the  fight  of  the  next  three 
months  by  engaging  the  principal  reception  room  of  the  Leland 
hotel,  with  several  suites  of  parlors  and  bedrooms  on  the  second 
floor.  The  reception  room,  holding  two  hundred  people,  was 
used  for  general  entertainment.  A  buffet  service  was  installed, 
and  arrangements  were  made  for  serving  elaborate  meals.  Near 
Mr.  Griggs'  quarters  were  placed  those  of  the  democratic  and  re- 
publican state  chairmen.  At  once  lobbying  was  begun  on  a  lavish 
scale.  Members,  whether  democrats  or  republicans,  hostile  or 
friendly,  were  invited  to  the  Leland  for  drinks,  for  light  refresh- 
ments, or  for  huge  oyster  suppers  or  quail  dinners.  They  were 
pressed  to  bring  with  them  any  of  their  constituents  who  hap- 
pened to  be  in  town,  and  to  order  for  such  guests  as  freely  as  for 
themselves.  They  were  supplied  with  cigars,  and  groups  of  them 
were  taken  to  the  theatre.  During  the  week  three  or  four  of  the 
Champaign  county  committee  Avere  always  on  the  ground,  and  at 
week  ends,  when  entertainment  w^as  at  its  height,  eight  or  ten 
would  come  over.  All  bills  were  sent  in  to  be  paid  from  the 
$40,000  fund  subscribed  or  appropriated  for  the  pui-pose.  No 
other  community  had  fitted  up  headquarters  in  this  way,  or  made 


The  University  Located  243 

any  preparations  for  the  entertainment  of  members.  The  house 
was  greatly  impressed  by  the  earnestness  of  Champaign  county, 
and  many  a  representative  voted  for  the  Champaign  bill  because 
Mr.  Griggs  and  his  followers  ' '  had  worked  so  hard. ' '  ^ 

Although  Morgan  county  had  in  1866  defeated  the  proposi- 
tion to  vote  a  tax  of  $300,000  to  secure  the  location,  Jacksonville 
still  had  hopes  of  gaining  the  prize.  On  Januaiy  1,  1867,  a  meet- 
ing of  citizens  was  held  and  a  resolution  passed  requesting  the 
trustees  of  the  to^vn  to  hold  an  election  on  the  seventh  for  or 
against  a  tax  of  $50,000  upon  the  town  to  aid  in  securing  the 
location  of  the  university. 

It  was  the  idea  of  Jacksonville  to  obtain  $50,000  by  tax  and 
an  additional  amount  sufficient  to  acquire  the  location  by  indi- 
vidual subscription.  One  such  subscription  was  made  at  this 
meeting  by  Mrs.  Ayres.  She  offered  to  give  the  state,  in  case  the 
university  was  located  at  Jacksonville,  the  Berean  college  build- 
ing. This  was  considered  a  munificent  gift  and  valued  at  the 
time  at  $60,000.  It  was  included  in  Morgan  county's  bid  later 
at  $25,000  and  so  estimated  by  the  legislative  committee.  Such 
was  the  situation  at  the  opening  of  the  legislative  session  of  1867. 

The  speakership  was  one  of  the  things  for  which  Mr.  Griggs 
bargained.  As  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  session  drew  near, 
Mr.  Griggs  carefully  planned  his  campaign  to  be  carried  forward 
on  the  floor  of  the  house.  Quoting  from  an  interview  ■\\ath  Mr. 
Griggs:  "It  was  understood  that  the  Senate  would  accede  to 
whatever  the  House  did,  and  though  Mr.  Tincher,  of  Danville, 
was  deputed  there  to  take  care  of  Twin  City  interests,  he  had 
little  to  do.  At  the  opening  of  the  session  Mr.  Griggs  was  named 
for  speaker  by  one  faction  of  the  republicans,  and  Mr.  Corwin, 
of  Bloomington,^  by  another.  This  was  upon  the  initiative  of 
Mr.  Grriggs'  friends;  and  while  Griggs  did  not  court  the  position 
as  aiding  him  in  passing  the  bill,  he  later  saw  in  the  nomination 
the  possibility  of  a  helpful  bargain.  The  contest  was  regarded 
as  indicating  that  the  struggle  for  the  college  would  lie  between 
Bloomington  and  Urbana-Champaign,  and  that  Chicago,  Jack- 

'Clark  Eobinson  Griggs  and  location  of  the  university,  manuscripts  at 
University  of  Illinois. 

*Mr.  Corwin  was  from  La  Salle,  not  Bloomington. 


244  History  University  of  Iltinois 

soiivillc,  and  Lincoln  were  alreadj^  falling  behind.  For  two  days 
Mr.  Griggs  commanded  thirty-five  votes,  and  prevented  the  or- 
ganization of  the  House.  On  the  night  after  the  second  day  he 
was  visited  in  his  parlor  at  the  Leland  by  Senator  Washbunie, 
who  asked  what  he  would  require  in  return  for  giving  up  the 
contest  to  Mr.  Corwin.  Mr.  Griggs  replied  that  he  wanted  the 
chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  and  Mechanic 
Arts  and  the  privilege  of  naming  a  majority  of  its  members — it 
being  the  body  before  which  all  bills  for  the  location  of  the  col- 
lege would  come.  Mr.  Corwin  was  called  into  his  room,  and  the 
bargain  struck.  The  next  day  Mr.  Griggs,  upon  the  floor  of  the 
House,  withdrew  his  candidacy  and  asked  his  supporters  to  vote 
for  Mr.  Corwin.     The  bargain  was  carried  out  to  the  letter."  ^ 

It  is  quite  probable  that  Mr.  Griggs  in  the  above  quoted  re- 
port gave  the  essence  of  a  ' '  fixed  up ' '  bargain  he  had  made  with 
Mr.  Corwin  of  La  Salle.  He  is  incorrect  in  many  details  as 
shown  by  the  journal  of  the  house.  He  says  he  was  ahead  thirty- 
five  votes  for  two  days  thus  preventing  the  house  from  organiz- 
ing, and  that  on  the  next  day  he  publicly  withdrew  his  candidacy 
in  favor  of  Corwin.  The  house  journal  states  that  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  first  day,  January  7,  Mr.  Corwin  was  elected  speaker, 
his  only  opponent  being  Mr.  Casey  of  Pulaski  county.^  There 
were  a  number  of  candidates  for  the  speakership,  the  Chicago 
Tribune  mentioned  six  names,  but  whatever  contest  was  made 
and  bargains  struck  was  done  outside,  apparently,  and  before 
the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  of  the  session. 

On  this  same  day,  January  7,  Governor  Oglesby  in  a  message 
to  the  twenty-fifth  general  assembly  made  mention  of  the  location 
of  the  industrial  university  as  one  of  the  important  tasks  before 
the  legislature.  He  expressed  the  belief  that  a  generous  rivaliy 
for  the  location  would  insure  sufficient  funds  for  the  purchase  of 
necessary  grounds  and  buildings.  Should  these  anticipations 
fail,  the  state,  he  said,  Avould  not  be  released  from  its  duty  to  pro- 
vide funds  for  the  purpose  in  some  other  way.  Thus  the  prelim- 
inaries had  been  taken  and  the  way  opened  for  legislative  action 
on  the  question  of  location  of  the  industrial  university. 

^Clark  Eobinson  Griggs  and  location  of  the  university,  manuscripts  at 
University  of  Illinois. 

^House  Joairnal,  1867,  1  session,  8. 


TJie  University  Located  245 

The  next  six  weeks,  which  are  crowded  with  many  events  in 
connection  with  this  subject,  divides  itself  naturally  into  the 
following  three  periods:  introduction  of  bills,  locating  the  univer- 
sity and  passing  of  the  bill  enabling  counties  and  cities  to  vote  a 
tax  for  funds,  preparation  of  bids  by  various  counties  and  the 
visit  of  the  legislature's  committee  to  inspect  locations,  and  legis- 
lative action  on  the  bills  and  the  passing  of  the  act  locating  the 
university. 

Legislative  activity  on  the  question  of  the  location  began  in 
the  senate  although  it  was  unable  to  devote  much  time  to  the  sub- 
ject until  the  election  of  United  States  senators  was  out  of  the 
way.  The  first  step  was  taken  January  10th  by  Mr.  Tincher  of 
Vermilion  county,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  agriculture  and 
a  strong  friend  of  Champaign,  who  introduced  a  bill  entitled 
*'an  act  to  provide  for  the  organization,  endowment  and  main- 
tenance of  the  Illinois  university"  and  provided  for  its  location 
in  Champaign  county.  It  was  read  twice  and  ordered  printed. 
The  same  day  Mr.  Fuller  of  Boone  county  introduced  a  bill  with 
the  same  title  which  took  the  same  course  and  which  provided 
for  a  commission  to  locate  the  university.^  Senator  Fuller  intro- 
duced tAvo  other  bills  on  the  subject.  The  first  one  was  "an  act 
defining  the  duties  of  the  commissioners  to  locate  the  industrial 
university."  This  went  to  second  reading  and  was  ordered 
printed.  The  second  bill  was  one  to  enable  counties  and  cities  to 
raise  funds  by  taxation.  This  bill  was  passed  by  the  senate  with- 
out opposition  on  January  16,  passed  by  the  house  on  January 
23,  and  signed  by  the  governor  on  January  25. 

On  January  11  Mr,  Eastman  of  Chicago  introduced  a  bill 
that  asked  for  a  division  of  the  fund  to  establish  a  polytechnic 
school  in  Chicago.  This  bill  was  referred  to  Mr.  Fuller's  com- 
mittee on  state  institutions  and  on  January  16  was  laid  on  the 
table  indefinitely.  It  gave  rise  to  a  resolution  offered  by  Mr. 
Hunter  declaring  against  any  division  of  the  fund. 

In  the  house  on  January  11,  Mr.  Baldwin  of  LaSalle  intro- 
duced Mr.  Fuller's  bill  which  was  at  first  laid  on  the  table  and 
later  referred  to  the  committee  on  manufactures  and  agriculture 
where  it  was  finally  smothered  by  the  chairman,  Mr.  Griggs.     On 

^Senate  Journal,  1867,  1  session  71. 


246  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  same  date  C.  R.  Griggs  introduced  in  the  house  the  bill  for 
an  industrial  university  that  ultimately  passed.  It  was  referred 
to  Mr.  Griggs '  committee  on  manufactures  and  agriculture. 

The  ignorance  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  federal 
laws  in  regard  to  the  cstablislimcnt  of  agricultural  colleges  was 
displayed  in  a  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Eddy  on  January  12, 
suggesting  the  need  of  haste  as  the  college  must  be  in  operation 
by  July  2,  1867,  and  providing  that  corporations  desiring  the  lo- 
cation should  notify  the  legislature  by  the  twenty-third  day  of  the 
session.  Not  till  four  days  later  did  a  member  of  the  senate,  Mr. 
McConnell,  inform  the  legislature  that  congress  had  passed  an 
act  the  year  before  extending  the  time  five  years."^  Even  after 
this,  on  January  23  the  house  considered  the  resolution  and 
amended  it  before  it  concluded  to  drop  the  matter  altogether. 

On  the  question  of  locating  the  university  by  a  commission 
a  lively  debate  occurred  in  the  senate  on  January  16.  Mr. 
Fuller 's  bill  was  reported  back  favorably  and  Mr.  Tincher  moved 
to  amend  it  by  striking  out  the  11th  section  providing  for  a 
commission.  Mr.  Tincher  argued  against  location  by  commis- 
sion on  the  following  grounds :  the  people  had  chosen  representa- 
tives to  do  their  legislative  Avork,  that  in  this  instance  he  believed 
a  combination  had  been  formed  to  secure  the  location  in  certain 
places  and  other  claims  would  be  ignored ;  he  feared,  too,  that  the 
governor  would  be  influenced  by  Jacksonville  and  Bloomington 
in  the  appointment  of  the  commissioners,  that  both  these  towns 
had  been  over  patronized  so  far,  and  as  partial  proof  gave  figures 
to  show  that  Jacksonville  was  then  receiving  more  than  one-half 
the  state  tax ;  that  while  two  years  before  a  commission  was  feas- 
ible, now  that  they  had  had  two  years  to  think  the  matter  over  it 
was  not  necessary ;  and  finally  no  other  county  had  yet  submitted 
a  direct  offer. 

Mr.  Cheney  of  McLean  and  Mr.  McConnell  of  Morgan  each 
defended  his  county  against  the  assault  of  Mr.  Tincher.  Mr. 
Cheney  said  he  knew  of  no  conspiracy  afoot  in  Bloomington  to 
locate  the  university.  He  had  always  advocated  a  commission 
and  had  done  it  from  the  purest  motives.  He  believed  Gover- 
nor Oglesby  capable  of  choosing  men  to  do  the  work  honestly  and 

'Act  of  July  23,  1866,  noted  previously. 


The  University  Located  247 

that  he  considered  it  beyond  the  power  of  the  legislature  to 
locate  this  institution  and  do  justice  to  their  constituency  also, 
since  the  time  for  ordinary  business  was  in  fact  altogether  inade- 
quate.    For  these  reasons  he  insisted  upon  a  commission. 

Mr.  McGonnell  of  Morgan  asked  why  the  assault  upon  Mor- 
gan county?  Was  it  because  a  great  many  institutions  were 
there  already?  To  his  mind  that  was  an  argument  in  its  favor. 
He  believed  the  institution  should  be  located  where  property  was 
rising  and  increasing  in  value  every  day.  As  Mr.  Tincher  had 
cited  statistics  in  relation  to  Morgan  county  he  would  do  the 
same  for  Champaign  and  make  a  comparison  between  the  two. 
He  proceeded  to  show  by  figures  that  the  taxable  property  in 
Morgan  county  had  increased  from  1865  to  1866  $7,995,  in  Cham- 
paign county  the  taxable  property  had  decreased  in  the  same  time 
$527,567.  It  was  strange  to  have  this  falling  off  if  Champaign 
were  a  rising  county;  a  county  getting  richer  every  day.  He 
said  that  though  Champaign  county  was  getting  poorer  every 
year  that  after  all  if  it  produced  the  money  for  the  proposed 
university  it  was  none  of  his  business  where  the  county  got  it. 
But  he  insisted,  a  commission  should  be  appointed  to  take  the 
time  necessary  to  consider  the  offers  from  all  the  places. 

The  result  of  the  debate  was  that  the  Tincher  amendment 
was  made  a  special  order  for  January  23  and  then  postponed 
until  the  24  when  it  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  fifteen  to  nine.  Other 
evidence  that  affairs  were  moving  to  suit  Champaign  was  the 
reference  of  the  Fuller  bills  to  a  special  conunittee  of  five,  four 
of  whom,  Mack,  Tincher,  Cohns,  and  Bushnell,  appointed  by 
Lieutenant  Governor  Bross,  were  avowed  Champaign  advocates. 
Then  next  day  Senator  Tincher  reported  back  his  own  bill  and  on 
his  recommendation  it  was  referred  to  the  special  committee. 

Meantime  a  petition  of  Morgan  county  backed  by  an  offer  of 
$520,000  in  cash  and  real  property  (as  estimated)  had  been  pre- 
sented in  the  house,  January  16,  by  Mr.  Baldwin. 

McLean  county,  contrary  to  the  example  set  by  Morgan  and 
Champaign,  delayed  activity  on  the  vital  question  of  securing 
the  location  until  the  latter  part  of  Janua'y.  Not  until  the 
enabling  act  of  January  25,  which  gave  the  light  to  towns  and 
counties  to  tax,  was  passed  did  McLean  become  aroused.     Once 


248  History  University  of  Illinois 

started  she  rushed  through  all  her  arrangements  within  a  couple 
of  weeks.  McLean  organized  her  resources  in  much  the  same 
way  that  Morgan  did  through  mass  meetings  and  articles  in  the 
daily  papers.  In  these  arguments  were  set  forth,  the  people's 
sentiment  tested,  a  vote  taken,  and  an  offer  submitted  to  the 
legislature. 

From  articles  that  appeared  in  the  Bloomington  Pantagrapli 
and  in  the  Jacksonville  Journal  it  is  entirely  clear  that  McLean 
and  Morgan  had  friendly  feeling  one  for  the  other.  It  is  equally 
clear  that  these  counties  looked  with  disapprobation  upon  Cham- 
paign's  efforts  almost  from  the  first  and  finally  charged  Cham- 
paign with  dishonest  methods.  The  Pantagrapli  said  on  Jan- 
uary 26,  the  day  following  the  reference  of  the  various  bills  in  the 
senate  to  the  special  committee  of  five :  "Of  course  things  are 
now  fixed  up  in  the  interest  of  Urbana. "  The  Pantagrapli 
thought,  however,  that  when  liberal  offers  came  in  from  other 
counties  it  would  make  a  difference  and  that  in  the  end  the  place 
that  could  offer  the  best  inducements  would  obtain  the  location. 
It  hoped  it  was  not  placing  too  much  faith  in  the  honor  and  can- 
dor of  its  fellowmen.  On  the  29th  of  January,  the  Pantagrapli 
had  an  article  on  "The  Worth  of  a  College,"  in  which  it  pointed 
out  both  the  material  and  educational  advantages  of  such  an  insti- 
tution. Bj^  way  of  illustration  it  pointed  to  Normal  and  Normal 
university.  It  quoted  prominent  citizens,  as  Jesse  Fell,  H. 
Gridley,  R.  E.  Williams,  E.  R.  Roe,  A.  B.  Ives,  Geo.  W.  Parke  to 
the  effect  that  to  secure  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  college 
was  the  greatest  thing  they  could  do  to  insure  the  future  growth 
of  McLean  county. 

At  a  meeting  of  citizens  held  in  the  court  house  in  Bloom- 
ington on  the  evening  of  January  29  was  urged  a  proposition  to 
raise  by  tax  $200,000  from  the  county.  Meetings  at  various 
places  throughout  the  county  were  announced  on  February  1  to 
be  held  during  the  next  few  days  when  leading  men  would  dis- 
cuss the  subject  with  the  citizens. 

On  February  1  a  committee  of  the  legislature  consisting  of 
five  senators  and  nine  representatives  made  a  visit  to  Normal. 
After  viewing  the  one  hundred  acres  of  land  owned  by  the  state 
and  the  Normal  university  building  the  committee  returned  to 


TJie  University  Located  249 

Springfield  without  riding  through  Bloomington  as  the  citizens 
had  hoped  they  would.  As  this  was  not  the  committee  on  the 
location  of  the  industrial  university  not  so  much  importance  was 
attached  to  its  visit. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  committee  visited  Normal,  Jesse 
Fell  and  fifteen  other  citizens  presented  the  claims  of  McLean 
county  in  a  statement  to  the  legislature.  They  offered  for  the 
location  of  the  university  $200,000  worth  of  city  bonds,  $200,000 
of  bonds  (a  contingent  fund)  to  be  voted  by  the  county  February 
5,  and  $100,000  in  real  estate  and  cash.  In  accordance  with  the 
expectation  of  these  men,  the  county  voted  the  bonds  on  Febru- 
ary 5  by  a  majority  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty  three.  To  the 
$100,000  fund  two  large  individual  subscriptions  had  been  made, 
one  by  Judge  Davis  who  offered  10,000  acres  of  Missouri  land, 
and  the  other  by  Mr.  Fell  who  gave  $15,000. 

The  statement  which  follows  contains  a  summary  of  Mc- 
Lean's offerings,  answers  the  charge  that  had  been  made  that 
McLean  county  had  not  paid  its  subscriptions  made  in  1857  to  se- 
cure the  location  of  the  state  normal  university,  and  other  inter- 
esting and  important  facts : 

*  *  To  The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois 

"In  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  McLean  County,  we  respect- 
fully ask  to  present  to  your  honorable  bodies  the  following  state- 
ment of  facts,  and  our  action  in  reference  thereto. 

"Since  the  passage  of  what  is  commonly  knouTi  as  the 
'Agricultural  College  Bill,'  providing  for  the  organization  and 
endoAvment  of  State  Industrial  Schools,  or  Universities,  our  peo- 
ple in  this  vicinity  in  common  with  those  of  the  State  generally, 
have  very  confidently  indulged  the  hope  that  no  location  of  such 
an  Institution  in  this  State  should  be  made  till  ample  time  had 
been  given  to  any  and  every  point  in  the  State  desiring  its  loca- 
tion, to  thoroughly  canvass  the  matter  before  the  people,  and  to 
submit  in  legal  form  propositions  to  be  voted  upon  to  accomplish 
that  object.  It  will  doubtless  be  remembered  by  many  of  you 
that  at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  efforts  were  made  to 
have  an  enabling  act  passed  for  this  purpose,  similar  to  the  one 
which  has  recently  become  a  law,  and  that  those  efforts  were  de- 


250  Ilistorii  University  of  Illinois 

featcd  by  the  defeat  of  the  other  bill  of  which  it  was  a  supple- 
ment. 

' '  We  did  not  then  suppose  that  it  was  practicable  to  make  a 
bid  at  all  commensurate  with  the  importance  of  the  object,  or  the 
expectations  of  the  people  of  the  State,  without  an  enabling  Act 
by  which  to  equalize  the  burdens  thus  sought  to  be  imposed  on 
any  community,  and  recent  events  have  fully  vindicated  the  cor- 
rectness of  that  opinion.  We  make  this  statement  in  answer  to  a 
question  that  has  frequently  been  raised  during  the  present 
Session,  why  we  were  not  sooner  prepared  to  submit  to  you  some 
definite  proposition  to  secure  the  location  of  the  proposed  Uni- 
versity. 

''The  developments  of  the  last  two  weeks  in  both  Houses 
having  fully  satisfied  us  that  it  is  your  determination  not  to 
devolve  the  duty  of  fixing  the  location  upon  a  Commission,  but 
to  settle  it  by  direct  vote  of  the  Legislature  prior  to  its  adjourn- 
ment, we  have  in  conformity  with  that  apparent  determination, 
caused  elections  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Bloomington,  and  also 
in  the  town  of  Normal,  at  which  propositions  were  voted  upon  to 
issue  by  the  properlj^  constituted  authorities  of  each  of  said 
localities.  One  Hundred  Thousand  Dollars  of  10  per  cent  Bonds, 
redeemable  in  twenty  years. 

''Though  the  notice  on  which  said  elections  were  held  was 
necessarily  brief,  we  are  happy  to  state  that  the  unanimity  of  our 
people  in  responding  to  the  appeals  which  have  been  made  to 
them  in  behalf  of  the  proposed  measure,  is  perhaps  without 
parallel  in  popular  elections.  In  the  city  of  Bloomington  where 
at  the  ordinaiy  annual  elections  about  a  thousand  votes  only,  are 
polled,  1492  votes  were  cast,  of  which  one  only  was  in  opposition 
to  the  proposed  donation.  In  the  towniship  of  Normal — includ- 
ing a  territory  of  six  miles  square — a  majority  of  all  the  votes 
hitherto  registered  were  polled,  with  but  one  dissenting  vote  to 
the  measure.  This  unanimous  and  hearty  appreciation  of  the 
benefits  likely  to  result  from  such  an  institution  if  planted  in  our 
midst,  is  not  only  in  the  highest  degree  complimentary  to  the 
character  of  our  people,  but  affords,  we  respectfully  submit,  an 
unmistakable  guarantee  that  the  University  if  here  located,  will 
receive  at  the  hands  of  our  people  that  fostering  care  and  atten- 
tion necessary  to  its  proper  development. 


The  University  Located  251 

"In  addition  to  this  a  proposition  is  now  pending  before  the 
people  of  the  County  of  McLean,  to  be  decided  on  the  5th,  inst, 
for  a  further  issue  of  $200,000  of  10  per  cent  bonds,  having  a 
like  time  to  run,  vdth  every  prospect  of  its  being  carried  by  a 
decided  majority. 

"  It  is  proper  to  observe  in  this  connection  that  arrangements 
have  also  been  consummated  with  Eastern  Capitalists  by  which 
all  our  bonds  to  be  issued  for  this  object,  are  to  be  cashed  at  their 
par  value ;  thus  securing  their  conversion  into  currency  without 
any  dimunition  to  the  State  as  fast  as  the  money  is  needed  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  So  w^ell  assured  are  we  of  this  fact,  that  this 
convertibility  of  our  bonds  is  guaranteed  by  responsible  parties. 
Nor  is  this  all.  Subscriptions  of  over  7000  acres  of  real  estate — 
including  tw^o  or  more  magnificent  sites  for  the  University  build- 
ings— and  other  valuable  property  are  offered  by  various  individ- 
uals, the  various  cash  value  of  which  cannot  be  estimated  by  any 
competent  unprejudiced  mind  at  less  than  $100,000 — thus  mak- 
ing an  aggregate  of  $300,000  which  has  already  been  secured, 
with  the  prospect  amounting  to  almost  a  certainty,  that  Two 
Hundred  Thousand  Dollars  more  will  be  added,  making  in  all 
$500,000. 

"To  recapitulate,  we  submit  the  following  items  of  property, 
to  wit: 

1.  City  Bonds  of  Bloomington $100,000 

2.  Bonds  of  the  Town  of  Normal $100,000 

3.  Real  Estate  and  other  valuable  Property.  .$100,000 

Making  our  present  offer $300,000 

With  a  contingent  offer,  as  above  stated,  of  $200,000 
Making  in  all $500,000 

"In  fixing  values  to  the  property  covered  by  the  3rd  item 
above  enumerated,  the  undersigned  have  been  scrupulously  care- 
ful to  avoid  any  unfairness  or  disposition  to  exaggerate,  prefer- 
ring rather  to  be  under  than  above  the  actual  cash  value  of  the 
Property  therein  referred  to. 

"To  each  and  all  of  these  items,  both  in  regard  to  their  value 
and  the  title  by  which  they  are  held,  we  challenge  the  closest, 


252  History  University  of  Illinois 

severest  scrutiny.  AVith  no  desire  to  disparage  or  undervalue 
in  any  degree  the  bids  made  by  other  localities  who  are  so  nobly 
competing  for  the  prize  which  you  hold  in  your  hands,  we  feel 
conscious  of  having  made  an  offer  not  only  creditable  to  the  com- 
munities by  which  they  are  made,  but  in  some  degree  correspond- 
ing in  its  magnitude  Avith  the  noble  State  of  whose  interests  you 
are  the  appointed  guardians;  and  we  respectfully  ask  at  your 
hands,  that  such  action  be  taken  as  may  seem  to  you  most  appro- 
priate, to  examine  thoroughly  not  only  what  we  have  thus  offered, 
but  what  has  been  proposed  at  other  points.  If  after  a  fair  and 
impartial  examination  of  all  the  claims  that  probably  attach  to 
each  locality,  taking  everything  into  account,  affecting  the  future 
well-being  of  the  institution,  you  shall  decide  that  the  interests 
of  the  State  will  be  best  subserved  by  locating  it  elsewhere,  we 
shall  cheerfully  acquiesce  in  that  decision,  but  to  secure  that 
hearty  acquiescence  on  our  part,  as  well  as  other  competing 
points,  we  invoke  on  your  deliberations  on  this  subject  that  fair- 
ness and  rectitude  of  action,  v/hich  we  are  fully  assured  you  will 
bring  to  bear  in  the  settlement  of  this  important  question. 

"To  our  advantages,  geographically,  situated  as  we  are  at 
the  center  of  population  of  the  State  and  near  to  the  geograph- 
ical center  also,  at  a  point  where  two  of  the  most  important  rail- 
roads of  the  State  intersect,  and  to  which  other  roads  are  speedily 
to  be  built,  thus  making  it  a  place  of  easy  access  to  the  people  of 
the  whole  State ;  to  our  advantages  on  the  score  of  health,  pleas- 
ant and  attractive  surroundings,  high  moral  tone  of  society,  the 
absolute  and  unqualified  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  at  that 
point — Normal — near  which  its  location  is  invited;  we  say,  to 
these  and  other  advantages  of  our  position  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
even  thus  briefly  to  allude,  as  they  are  extensively  known  and 
appreciated  throughout  the  State. 

"It  may  not  be  improper  to  state  that  in  close  proximity  to 
the  Normal  University,  the  State  owns  one  hundred  acres  of  land, 
covering  a  beautiful  site  for  the  proposed  Institution,  and  that 
this  land  was  donated  with  the  distinct  understanding  of  being 
used  for  this  purpose. 

"It  is  proper  to  say,  however,  that  in  our  above  estimate 
of  values  no  account  is  taken  of  this  tract  of  land,  and  should 


The  University  Located  253 

it  be  objected  to,  other  sites  will  be  offered.  The  benefits  how- 
ever of  close  proximity  to  the  Normal,  where  there  is  an  extens- 
ive museum  of  Natural  History,  and  other  kindred  advantages, 
are  such  as  we  trust  will  secure  the  location  on  this  ground. 

"Our  citizens  further  propose  that  should  the  location  be 
made  in  this  vicinity,  adequate  accommodations  in  the  way  of 
buildings,  free  of  rent,  at  either  Bloomington  or  Normal,  ^nll  be 
furnished  till  the  necessary  buildings  are  erected  by  the  State. 

"As  one  of  the  considerations  moving  us  to  present  to  you  a 
proposition  four-fifths  of  which  will  be  cash,  allow  us  to  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact,  that  to  meet  the  current  expenditures 
of  the  institution  in  supporting  a  faculty  and  defraying  other 
incidental  expenditures,  large  sums  of  money  will  be  needed 
before  they  can  be  realized  by  the  proceeds  of  the  land  scrip  held 
by  the  State.  It  will  also  be  borne  in  mind  in  this  connection, 
that  no  part  of  the  principal  fund  arising  from  the  sale  of  said 
scrip  is  applicable  to  this  or  any  other  object,  and  that  in  the 
absence  of  a  cash  donation  on  which  to  draw,  the  institution 
becomes  at  once  a  charge  upon  the  State,  not  only  for  these 
current  expenses  but  what  is  more,  for  the  erection  of  the  nec- 
essary buildings.  To  raise  the  endowment  fund  by  thrusting 
into  the  market  the  480,000  acres  of  scrip  at  the  present  de- 
pressed prices,  and  with  the  disabilitj^  which  it  now  temporarily, 
as  we  hope,  labors  under,  would  not  only  involve  a  ruinous  sac- 
rifice, but  largely  defeat  the  beneficent  purposes  of  the  grant. 

"A  word  on  a  point  that  may  seem  foreign  to  the  subject 
in  hand,  but  which  by  outside  appliances,  is  sought  to  be  made 
ar  element  of  weakness  to  the  locality  we  represent.  It  has  been 
industriously  charged  that  our  county  and  local  subscriptions 
made  in  1857,  of  $141,000,  to  secure  the  location  of  the  State 
Normal  University,  was  not  paid  as  agreed,  and  hence  our  sub- 
sequent applications  to  the  Legislature  for  appropriations.  In 
answer  to  this  we  beg  leave  to  refer  to  a  report  made  by  a  select 
Committee  of  the  House  at  its  last  session,  charged  with  the 
investigation  of  this  subject,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  that  our 
people  were  not  only  acquitted  of  these  charges,  but  the  strong- 
est testimony  borne  of  the  fidelity  and  good  faith  with  which  said 
subscriptions  were  paid.    If  as  we  hope,  it  is  your  pleasure  to 


254  History  University  of  Illinois 

reopen  that  investij?ation,  cither  on  the  grounds  alluded  to,  or  to 
inquire  into  the  manner  in  which  the  location  of  that  institution 
was  made, — the  integrity  of  which  has  been  by  some  called  in 
question,  (from  motives  we  will  not  stop  to  inquire  into) — we 
shall  cheerfully  co-operate  in  the  most  thorough  and  searching 
scrutiny  of  the  whole  subject. 

"We  would  state  in  conclusion,  that  the  foregoing  offer  is 
made  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  the  fund  donated  to 
the  State  is  to  be  preserved  in  entirety,  and  that  consequently, 
should  you  see  fit  to  divide  it  by  establishing  two  or  more  insti- 
tutions, we  shall  withdraw  our  bid  and  retire  from  the  contest. 
Sincerely  hoping  your  action  may  be  such  as  to  draw  around 
the  proposed  Institution  the  cordial  support  and  co-operation  of 
the  whole  people,  including  that  noble  band  of  co-w^orkers  who 
for  the  last  twenty  years  in  defiance  of  many  obstacles  have  so 
freely  spent  time  and  money  to  bring  it  into  existence,  we  are 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

Jesse  W.  Fell,  W.  R.  Duncan, 

George  W.  Park,  E.  M.  Prince, 

John  L.  Routt,  I.  J.  Bloomfield, 

F.  K.  Phoenix,  John  Niccolls, 

Daniel  Wilkins,  L.  W.  Capen, 

A.  Gridley,  Geo.  Bradner, 

John  E.  McClun,  E.  Barber, 

W.  A.  Pennell,  L.  A.  Hovey."  « 

The  last  sentence  in  the  above  document  is  especially  sig- 
nificant in  that  it  explains  the  close  friendship  existing  between 
McLean  and  Morgan  counties.  Jesse  Fell,  William  A.  Pennell, 
and  others  of  the  signers  were  included  in  the  "band  of  co- 
workers" who  had  striven  along  with  Turner  for  more  than 
twenty  years  to  bring  the  proposed  university  into  existence. 
During  the  next  few  weeks  there  were  many  articles  in  the 
Bloomington  Pantagraph  answering  charges,  encouraging  the 
workers,  announcing  meetings,  and  giving  results  of  various 
activities. 

Logan  county  was  also  interested  in  the  situation  and  assemb- 
ling her  forces  on  Febiniary  6,  voted  $300,000  in  bonds.     To 

'From  a  printed  circular  in  the  Turner  manuscripts. 


The  University  Located  255 

this  amount  the  city  of  Lincoln  added  $50,000  in  bonds  and  the 
Chicago  &  Alton  railroad  offered  $50,000  in  freight.  In  lieu 
of  $50,000  of  city  bonds  the  county  offered  the  choice  of  three 
farms  all  within  one  mile  of  the  court  house  in  the  city  of  Lin- 
coln. In  the  closing  statement  to  the  legislature  presenting 
their  bid  they  summarize  as  follows : 

"  In  brief  we  propose  to  give  the  State  for  the  use  of  the 
University,  a  most  eligible  and  desirable  farm  on  which  to  locate 
the  Institution.  We  propose  further  to  give  the  State  enough 
money  to  erect  a  building,  better  and  more  costly  than  the  pres- 
ent capital  of  the  State,  or  the  Normal  University ;  and  when  all 
this  is  done,  there  will  be  the  magnificent  surplus  of  $100,000 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  State  to  be  expended  in  the  supply  of 
apparatus,  machinery,  and  appliances  of  every  sort  necessary 
for  the  successful  operation  of  the  University.  The  State  cannot 
ask  more.  Believing  that  no  other  location  has  submitted  a  more 
generous  or  liberal  proposition  or  one  more  advantageous  to  the 
State,  the  citizens  of  Logan  County  ask  for  their  proposition  the 
candid'  and  just  consideration  of  the  Legislature. ' '  ^ 

By  February  8,  1867,  four  counties  had  presented  petitions 
including  offers  of  money,  bonds,  and  lands,  to  the  two  houses 
of  the  general  assembly  to  secure  the  location  of  the  industrial 
university  in  their  respective  localities.  In  view  of  this  situ- 
ation the  general  assembly  appointed  a  joint  committtee  of  fif- 
teen to  visit  these  counties,  to  examine  the  items  of  the  respective 
bids,  and  to  report  on  or  before  the  15th  of  February  on  the 
cash  value  of  each  bid  and  the  sufficiency  of  the  titles  by  which 
the  property  was  held.^*^  On  the  9th  of  Februaiy  the  joint  com- 
mittee visited  Champaign  county,  on  the  11th  Bloomington,  on 
the  13th  Jacksonville  and  then  Lincoln.  There  were  the  usual 
reception  committtees,  speeches,  dinners,  and  inspection  trips. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  to  the  legislature,  made  on 
Febniary  16,  was  accurate  in  its  statement  of  fact  and  fair  in 

^"Honse  Journal,  1867,  1  session,  23-24,  £6-27;  Senate  Journal,  1867,  1 
session,  499-550.  The  committee  consisted  of  the  following  in  the  house: 
the  chairman  Mr.  Enoch,  Messrs.  Hollowbush,  Straun,  Funk,  Beesley,  Stage, 
Hanson,  Odell,  Brunner,  and  Harlan;  in  the  senate:  Messrs.  Chittenden, 
Fort,  Patton,  Reilly,  and  Pinkney. 


256  Jlisforjj  Vnivcrsitij  of  Illinois 

estimating  and  presenting  the  cash  values  of  the  bids  that  had 
been  made.  The  value  of  the  bids  in  cash  in  order  mentioned 
by  the  committee  were:  Champaign  $285,000;  McLean  $470,- 
000;  Logan  $385,000;  and  Morgan  $315,000  without  including 
Illinois  college  property,  or  $419,000  including  Illinois  college. 
"The  joint  committee  appointed  in  compliance  with  a  cur- 
rent resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
beg  leave  to  report:  That  they  have  endeavored  to  discharge 
the  duties  assigned  them  by  said  resolutions,  in  visiting  the 
counties  of  Champaign,  McLean,  Logan  and  Morgan,  and,  as 
fully  as  possible,  in  the  limited  time  allowed  them,  have  examined 
the  propositions  of  each  of  said  counties  in  relation  to  the  loca- 
tion of  the  proposed  Industrial  University,  and  find  the  same 
to  be  as  follows: 

Champaign  County 

"The  County  of  Champaign  proposes  to  donate  the  Cham- 
paign and  Urbana  University,  a  new  brick  building,  with  stone 
foundations :  the  main  part  125  feet  front  and  40  feet  deep,  five 
stories  high,  and  a  wing  in  the  rear  70  by  44  feet  and  four  stor- 
ries  high,  containing  181  rooms,  having  cost  $120,000.  Said 
building  is  nearly  ready  for  occupancy.  We  estimate  its  cash 
value  at  $75,500.  Also,  10  acres  of  land,  in  the  center  of  which 
said  University  stands,  being  about  equi-distant  between  and 
within  one  mile  of  the  depot  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
in  the  city  of  Champaign,  and  the  court  house,  in  the  city  of 
Urbana.  We  estimate  the  cash  value  of  said  land  at  $2,500. 
Also,  I6O1/2  acres  of  well  cultivated  fann  land,  within  one-half 
mile  of  said  University  and  adjoining  the  city  of  Champaign, 
through  which  runs  a  stream  of  ever-living  water — the  cash 
value  of  which  land  we  estimate  at  $20,000.  The  average  assessed 
value  thereof  is  $20  per  acre.  Also,  410  acres  of  like  farm  land, 
adjoining  thereto,  with  orchard,  farm-house  and  barn — the  esti- 
mated cash  value  of  which  is  $30,000.  Its  average  value  by  the 
last  assessment,  was  $15  per  acre.  Also,  400  acres  of  like  farm 
land,  within  about  two  miles  from  said  University — the  cash 
value  of  which  is  estimated  at  $20,000.  The  average  of  the  same, 
by  the  last  assessment,  is  $15  per  acre.     The  entire  amount  of 


The  Vniversiiy  Located  257 

land  offered  by  Champaign  county  is  980  acres.  Also,  $2,000 
worth  of  shade,  ornamental  and  fruit  trees,  at  catalogue  rates — 
to  be  delivered  from  the  neighboring  nursery  of  M.  L.  Dunlap, 
Esq.  Also  $100,000  in  Champaign  county  10  per  cent.  20  year 
bonds — the  cash  value  of  which  is  estimated  at  $100,000.  Also, 
$50,000  in  freight  on  the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  for  the  said 
Industrial  University — the  estimated  cash  value  of  which  is 
$35,000. 

"The  total  offers  of  Champaign  county  are  estimated,  in 
cash,  at  $285,000. 

McLean  County 

"The  county  of  McLean  proposes  to  donate  $200,000  in 
McLean  county  10  per  cent.  20  year  bonds — the  estimated  cash 
value  whereof  is  $200,000.  Also  $100,000  city  of  Bloomington 
10  per  cent.  20  year  bonds — the  estimated  cash  value  of  which  is 
$100,000.  Also,  $100,000  to^^^lship  of  Normal  10  per  cent.  20 
year  bonds — estimated  cash  value  of  which  is  $100,000.  Also, 
$50,000  in  freight  on  the  Chicago,  Alton  and  St.  Louis  Railroad, 
for  the  proposed  University — valued,  in  cash,  at  $35,000.  Also 
431/2  acres  of  land,  for  the  proposed  University  site,  adjoining 
the  Normal  University,  through  which  runs  a  stream  of  water. 
The  estimated  value  of  this  tract  is  $15,000.  The  average  of  last 
assessment  was  $18  per  acre.  Also,  100  acres  of  land,  adjacent 
to  the  Normal  University,  and  now  held,  in  trust,  by  the  trustees 
of  said  Normal  University — the  estimated  cash  value  of  which 
is  $20,000. 

"The  total  offers  of  McLean  county  are  estimated,  in  cash, 
at  $470,000. 

"McLean  county  offers,  in  lieu  of  the  said  lands,  other  lands 
at  the  option  of  the  State,  equally  valuable.  All  the  foregoing 
offers  of  McLean  county  are  guaranteed  by  a  bond,  signed  by  its 
citizens,  who  are  represented  to  be  good  and  fully  responsible  for 
the  entire  amount. 

Logan  County 

"Logan  county  proposes  to  donate  $300,000  in  Logan  county 
10  per  cent,  ten  year  bonds — the  estimated  value  of  which,  in 


258  History  Univer.sHjj  of  Illinois 

cash,  is  $300,000.  Also,  $50,000  in  city  of  Lincoln  10  per  cent, 
five  year  bonds — the  cash  value  of  which  is  estimated  at  $50,000. 
Also.  $50,000  in  freight  on  the  Chicago,  Alton  and  St.  Louis 
Railroad,  for  said  University,  which  is  guaranteed  by  the  cit- 
izens of  Lincoln,  and  valued,  in  cash,  at  $35,000. 

"Logan  county  offers  in  lieu  of  $46,000  of  said  city  bonds, 
355  acres  of  highly  cultivated  farm  land,  adjoining  the  city  of 
Lincoln,  averaging,  by  the  last  assessment,  $10  per  acre,  or  640 
acres,  of  like  land,  also  adjoining  said  city — the  last  average 
assessment  of  which  is  $14.25  per  acre ;  or  420  acres  of  like  land, 
also  adjoining  said  city — the  last  average  assessment  of  which 
is  $15  per  acre.  A  stream  of  water  runs  through  each  of  the  said 
tracts,  and  each  is  estimated  to  be  worth,  in  cash,  from  $40,000 
to  $50,000. 

' '  The  total  offers  of  Logan  county  are  estimated,  in  cash  at 
$385,000. 

Morgan  County 

"Morgan  county  proposes  to  donate  $200,000,  in  Morgan 
county  ten  per  cent,  ten  year  bonds,  whose  estimated  value,  in 
cash,  is  $200,000.  Also,  $50,000  in  city  of  Jacksonville  ten  per 
cent,  ten  year  bonds,  whose  estimated  cash  value  is  $50,000. 
Also  200  acres  of  highl}^  improved  farm  land,  south  of  and  ad- 
joining the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  farm,  the  estimated 
cash  value  of  which  is  $40,000 — the  average  of  which,  by  the  last 
assessment,  was  $55  per  acre.  Also,  the  Berean  College  building, 
in  the  city  of  Jacksonville,  whose  estimated  cash  value  is  $12,000. 
Also,  about  six  acres  of  land,  in  the  center  of  which  said  college 
stands —  the  estimated  value  of  w^hich,  in  cash,  is  $13,000.  The 
above  offers  are  estimated,  in  cash,  at  $315,000.  Morgan  county 
also  offers  to  put  in  the  Illinois  College  building,  whose  estimated 
cash  value  is  $21,000.  Also,  31  acres  of  beautiful  land,  in  the 
center  of  w^hich  said  buildings  stand,  estimated,  in  cash,  at 
$60,000.  Also  a  library  and  apparatus,  estimated  as  worth,  in 
cash,  $5,000.  Also,  the  college  endowment  fund — estimated,  in 
cash,  at  $90,000.  Said  Illinois  College  property,  in  all,  estimated, 
in  cash,  at  $176,000.  Said  Illinois  College  property  is  under 
the  control  of  its  trustees,  who  propose  to  merge  it  into  said  In- 


The  University  Located  259 

dustrial  University,  as  far  as  they  can  under  their  powers,  but 
will  be  bound,  under  the  terms  of  their  charter  and  the  conditions 
of  the  endowments  to  said  college,  to  continue  the  organization 
of  said  board  of  trustees,  and  see  that  their  tnists  are  faithfully 
executed  and  the  funds  and  endowments  are  not  diverted  from 
their  original  purpose. 

''All  the  lands  offered  by  each  county  are  eligibly  situated, 
of  the  best  quality,  and  well  adapted  for  the  purposes  of  model 
and  experimental  farming,  or  pasturage.  The  titles  to  the  lands 
are  all  good,  or  can  be  made  good,  upon  the  acceptance  of  the 
offer  by  the  State.  The  abstracts  of  title,  together  with  the 
plats  of  the  lands,  are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  committee. 

"All  of  which  is  most  respectfully  submitted. 

A.  I.  ENOCH, 
Chairman  of  Joint  Committee. 
Springfield,  Illinois,  February  16,  1867."  " 

Following  the  visit  of  the  joint  committee  of  the  legislature, 
Champaign  county  issued  a  statement  signed  by  the  committee 
of  the  board  of  supervisors  that  Champaign  county's  bid,  if 
valued  as  the  joint  committee  valued  McLean's  bid,  would  have 
amounted  to  $555,400,  an  excess  of  $85,000  over  Bloomington. 
They  claimed  also  that  a  scarcity  of  water  in  and  about  Bloom- 
ington rendered  it  wholly  impracticable  as  a  site.^^ 

McLean  county  replied  by  issuing  a  statement  in  circular 
form  to  the  general  assembly,  signed  by  ten  leading  citizens 
headed  by  J.  W.  Fell,  in  which  it  declared  that  the  joint  com- 
mittee of  the  two  houses  very  properly  based  their  estimates  of 
value  on  actual  cash  sales  and  not  on  town  or  county  assessments. 
"This  effort,"  they  said,  "to  destroy  the  force  of  the  commit- 
tee's report  by  a  process  of  reasoning  so  notoriously  unreliable, 
demands  at  our  hands  no  further  notice."  The  committee  de- 
nounced as  "absolutely  and  transparently  false"  the  charge 
about  the  "scarcity  of  water"  in  and  about  Bloomington. ^3 

^^Eeports  General  Assembly,  1867,  1:443-445. 

*-The  committee  consisted  of  W.  D.  Somers,  T.  A.  Cosgrove,  and  C.  R. 
Morehouse.  See  documents  in  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield,  also  Appen- 
dix, p.  485. 


260  Ilisiorij  Univcrsit])  of  Illinois 

Champaign's  method  of  procedure — unfair  in  the  estima- 
tion of  her  competitors,  her  lobbying  committees,  the  suspicion 
concerning  her  influence  over  the  press,  chiefly  Chicago  and 
Springfield  papers,  also  her  exaggerated  statements  in  regard  to 
the  value  of  her  bid — made  her  a  target  for  a  vast  amount  of 
criticisms  from  other  communities  throughout  the  state.  On  Feb- 
ruary 9  the  Prairie  Farmer  had  an  article  with  the  title  "Is 
Champaign  selling  out  the  farmers?"  It  stated  that  it  had 
inside  information  that  Champaign  contemplated  incorporating 
in  the  bill  locating  the  institution  in  Champaign  a  section  for  the 
benefit  of  a  polytechnic  school  in  Chicago — thus  dividing  the 
fund  to  secure  the  vote  of  Chicago  members  for  the  location  of 
the  agricultural  department  in  their  city.  The  article  closed 
with  this  sentence:  ''If  Champaign  cannot  afford  to  stand  its 
chances,  fairly,  in  an  open  competition,  legislators  should  see  to 
it  that  she  is  counted  out  of  the  nvTmber  of  competitors."  ^^  The 
attitude  and  actions  of  Champaign  were  criticised  not  only 
abroad  but  at  home.  The  Champaign  papers  of  the  time  had  lit- 
tle to  say  of  this  dissension  at  home  but  the  press  in  other  local- 
ities commented  on  the  fact  that  all  was  not  peaceful  in  Cham- 
paign county.  Some  of  the  comments  were  based  upon  a  circular 
distributed  in  Springfield  on  February  6,  which  caused  excite- 
ment about  the  capitol,  but  had  little  weight  apparently  with  the 
legislature.  The  essential  portion  of  the  circular  read  as  follows : 
''To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  Illinois. 

We,  the  undersigned  tax  payers  and  legal  voters  of  East 
Bend  Township,  Champaign  County,  State  of  Illinois,  do  hereby 
petition  your  honorable  bodies  not  to  legalize  the  proceedings 
of  our  County  Board  of  Supervisors  at  their  Annual  Meeting  in 
September,  18G6,  appropriating  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
to  secure  the  location  of  the  Agricultural  College  at  our  county 
seat.  Also  we  pray  you  not  to  legalize  an  appropriation  of  $5,000 
made  at  the  adjourned  meeting  in  December,  1866,  to  pay  inci- 
dentals, sundries,  etc.  to  secure  the  location  of  the  Agricultural 
College  in  Champaign  County.  The  reasons  for  our  prayer  are 
as  follows : 

"First:  Our  county  is  already  heavily  in  debt  for  the  par- 
"Pravrie  Farmer,  February  9,  1867. 


Tlie  University  Located  261 

tial  payment  of  which  we  are  this  year  paying  two  per  cent  upon 
the  assessed  value  of  our  taxable  property.    . 

"Second:  Our  county  Board  of  Supervisors  at  their  ad- 
journed meeting  in  December,  1864,  appropriated  five  thousand 
dollars  to  meet  incidental  expenses  in  securing  the  location  of 
the  Agricultural  College  in  our  county.  Our  lobbies  (to  whom 
this  money  was  paid,  and  who  went  to  Springfield  at  the  last  sit- 
ting of  your  honorable  bodies  in  the  winter  of  1865)  refused 
upon  their  return  to  us  to  account  as  to  how  this  money  had  been 
expended,  and  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  ex- 
pended illegitimately;  and  we  further  believe  that  a  good  por- 
tion of  the  five  thousand  dollars  appropriated  in  December,  1866, 
has  already  been  used  to  bribe  the  public  press,  and  that  almost 
the  entire  sum  is  to  be  squandered  corruptly,  as  the  five  thousand 
before. 

"Third:  We  consider  the  election  held  on  the  10th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1866,  as  illegal,  and  (that  it)  did  not  fairly  represent 
the  views  and  wishes  of  our  county,  particularly  the  farming 
community. 

"Signed  by  Isaac  Devore  and  49  others. 

"If  the  accompanying  is  not  granted,  we  humbly  pray  you 
to  exempt  our  township  from  this  oppressive  tax,  as  we  are 
unanimously  opposed  to  said  tax,  as  the  following  list  embrac- 
ing the  entire  vote  of  our  township,  will  fully  show. 

Here  follow  the  names  of  tax  payers  and  legal  voters  of 
East  Bend  Township,  Champaign  County,  Illinois. 

"There  are  some  more  similar  petitions  of  the  same  general 
tenor,  from  seven  different  towns  of  Champaign  county,  namely : 
Urbana,  Homer,  East  Bend,  Pera,  Tolono,  and  Rantoul  Town- 
ships, covering  all  the  same  points  and  signed,  one  bj^  280  voters, 
another  by  94,  and  others  by  different  numbers.  The  origin- 
als of  these  petitions  and  papers  are  now  all  in  the  hands  of 
General  McConnell,  in  the  senate  chamber,  who  will  at  any  time 
substantiate  these  statements. 

"The  committee  of  citizens  of  Champaign  started  to  bring 
these  petitions  to  the  legislature  some  time  ago,  but  they  were 
met  by  their  representative,  Mr.  Griggs,  who  falsely  told  them 


262  History  Universitji  of  Illinois 

that  the  bill  had  passed  and  that  they  wei'c  too  late,  and  they 
returned  back,  but  afterwards  finding  that  they  had  been  de- 
ceived, they  sent  them  forAVard  by  other  parties. 

"Together  Avith  these  petitions  are  several  quite  interesting 
documents  which  throw  great  light  on  the  state  of  things  now  at 
the  capital  and  at  Chicago,  especially  as  regards  the  press.  We 
will  give  one  or  two  specimens.  The  specimens  that  implicate 
some  of  the  'powers  that  be'  by  name  we  will  withhold  until 
w^e  see  how  they  behave."  ^^ 

Among  the  documents  published  were  extracts  from  the 
proceedings  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Champaign  county; 
also  a  letter  from  Supervisor  Harnit  of  Champaign  county  dated 
Springfield,  Januaiy  25,  1867,  in  which  he  openly  and  definitely 
accused  certain  citizens  of  Champaign  county  of  sajdng  to  him 
that  they  had  bought  members  of  the  legislature  to  secure  the 
location  of  the  university  for  less  than  one  hundred  dollars 
per  member.  Supervisor  Harnit  seems  to  have  been  a  difficult 
one  for  Champaign  to  handle.  It  is  hard  to  determine  whether 
he  sold  out  or  simply  did  not  approve  of  Champaign's  tactics. 
The  Union  and  Gazette  called  him  a  traitor  and  accused  him  of 
having  procured  and  distributed  the  circulars  in  Springfield.^*^ 

During  this  period  from  January  26  to  February  18  the 
various  bills  were  held  in  committee  and  were  not  allowed  to  be 
presented  for  acceptance  or  refusal.  Mr.  Griggs  of  Champaign 
took  the  credit  of  all  this  to  himself  in  saying  that  repeatedly 
Mr.  Epler  of  Morgan  would  arise  and  inquire  the  reason  of 
the  delay  in  the  case  of  the  Jacksonville  bill,  and  that  as  often, 
he,,  Griggs,  would  inform  him  that  he  had  attempted  to  call  his 
committee  together  and  had  failed  to  secure  a  quorum,  "He 
would  publicly  and  ostentatiously  summon  the  members  of  this 
committee  and  later  whisper  them  not  to  appear. ' '  In  this  man- 
ner the  bills  were  prevented  from  coming  up  until  Mr.  Griggs 
had  marshalled  his  strength.^'  There  is  no  evidence  in  the  house 
journal  that  Mr.  Griggs  did  not  do  these  things  and  since  he  was 
charged  with  indulging  in  sharp  practices  it  seems  reasonable 
to  allow  his  admission  to  stand  as  something  quite  probable. 

"Bloomington  Pantograph,  February  8,  1867. 
^^Champaign  Union  and  Gazette,  February  15,  1867. 
^'Memorandum  by  Clark  R.  Griggs  at  University  of  Illinois. 


The  Universitij  Located  263 

The  joint  committee,  appointed  to  visit  the  different  counties 
desiring  the  location  and  which  made  its  report  on  Saturday, 
February  16,  to  the  assembly,  did  not  consider  that  it  was  within 
its  province  to  recommend  any  one  place  but  merely  to  report 
on  the  value  of  the  bids.  The  whole  question  was,  therefore, 
squarely  before  the  legislature. 

Immediately  on  the  Mondaj^  following,  the  fight  in  the  leg- 
islature was  resumed.  In  the  senate  Mr.  Fuller's  bill  was  re- 
ported back,  amended  by  the  special  committee  to  which  it  had 
been  referred  and  with  the  recommendation  that  it  should  pass. 
It  was  made  the  special  order  for  the  next  day  but  that  was  the 
last  heard  of  it. 

In  the  house  on  the  same  day  Mr.  Griggs'  bill  was  taken 
up  and  amended  in  minor  details.  Mr.  Bond  of  Cook  county 
endeavored  to  amend  by  a  clause  permitting  the  establishment 
of  a  polytechnic  institution  in  Chicago.  This  amendment  was 
withdrawn  on  the  21st — apparently  because  it  was  amended  so 
that  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised  by  Chicago  to  establish 
the  polytechnic  institute  was  increased  from  $50,000  to  $150,000. 
The  decisive  struggle  on  this  particular  bill  as  well  as  on  the 
whole  subject  came  on  February  20  in  the  house  on  the  question 
of  section  11  of  the  bill  proposing  to  locate  the  university  in 
Champaign  county.  The  first  onslaught  was  made  by  Morgan 
county  in  the  attempt  by  Mr.  Epler  of  Jacksonville  to  amend 
by  substituting  Morgan  county's  offer  and  Jacksonville  for  the 
location  in  place  of  Champaign.  It  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of 
sixty-one  to  twenty.  Mr.  Green  of  DeWitt  then  endeavored 
to  amend  by  substituting  McLean  county's  bid  and  Normal  in 
place  of  Champaign.  Again  there  was  a  defeat.  It  was  de- 
cided in  the  negative,  the  amendment  losing  by  a  vote  of  fifty- 
eight  to  twenty-six.  Next  to  make  the  attempt  was  Logan 
county.  Mr.  Gaillard  moved  to  substitute  Logan's  bid  and  Lin- 
coln for  the  location  in  place  of  Champaign.  It  was  decided  in 
the  negative  sixty  to  twenty-one.  The  bill  with  section  11  intact 
locating  the  university  in  Champaign  county — became  section  12 
in  the  act — was  then  passed  with  a  vote  of  sixty-seven  to  ten. 

The  bill  reached  the  senate  on  February  21  and  on  the  25th 
there  was  repeated  here  what  had  occurred  in  the  house.     Mr. 


264  Historii  University  of  Illinois 

Mctcalf  endeavored  to  amend  in  favor  of  McLean;  McConncll 
tried  an  amendment  for  Morgan  county  and,  failing  in  this, 
endeavored  to  secure  one  for  Lincoln.  All  attempts  failed.  Mr. 
McConnell  endeavored  then  to  get  through  an  amendment  look- 
ing to  the  protection  of  the  scrip,  which  amendment  also  failed. 
Mr.  Fort  tried  one  in  regard  to  deciding  on  another  location  in 
case  Champaign  county  did  not  fulfill  its  promises  and  this 
failed.  Finally  Mr.  Strain  became  quite  facetious  and  moved 
that  this  act  should  not  be  held  to  be  invalid  by  reason  of  its 
having  ignored  the  superior  bids  of  other  counties,  nor  by  reason 
of  its  having  been  passed  by  a  combination  vi^itli  the  new  state 
house,  canal,  and  southern  penitentiary  "ring."  Needless  to 
say  this  amendment  was  promptly  tabled.  The  bill  having  with- 
stood all  assaults  was  read  a  third  time  and  passed  by  the  senate 
with  a  vote  of  eighteen  to  seven,  and  on  February  28,  the  bill 
was  signed  by  the  governor. 

Thus  the  long  contest  on  the  question  of  location  was  finally 
closed.  Immediately  upon  the  passage  of  this  bill  both  houses 
hastened  to  take  action  to  protect  themselves  against  their  own 
work.  In  the  senate  a  supplemental  bill  was  introduced  by  Mr. 
Fort  providing  that  if  Champaign  did  not  "pay  up"  by  June 
1  the  trustees  ' '  shall ' '  locate  the  college  in  one  of  the  other  three 
counties  bidding.  Mr.  Mack  tried  to  turn  the  "shall"  to  "may" 
but  failed  and  the  bill  passed  twenty-three  to  nothing,  and  on 
the  same  day,  February  25,  it  passed  the  house  sixty  to  one  and 
was  approved  by  the  governor  on  March  8,  1867. 

The  results  of  the  contest  w^ere  the  kind  that  usually  and 
almost  inevitably  follow  a  long  and  bitter  struggle.  After  the 
legislature  adjourned  in  1867,  there  were  those  who  hastened 
to  congratulate  the  winning  county  while  some  hesitated  to  do 
this  for  the  reason  that  they  doubted  that  Champaign  would 
make  good  her  promises.  The  CJiicago  Journal  and  the  Repub- 
lican which  had  championed  Champaign's  cause  now  came  out  in 
praise  of  the  county  and  were  particularly  complimentary  to 
its  skillful  representative  Mr.  C.  R.  Griggs.  The  attitude  of 
mind  of  the  Champaign  county  leaders  on  the  question  of  their 
success  was  reflected  in  the  Cliampaign  County  Union  and  Ga- 
zette: 1^ 


»«March  15,  1867. 


TJic  University  Located  265 

"That  our  good  county  went  through  this  trial  and  came 
out  the  winner  is  to  us  a  matter  of  proud  satisfaction.  That 
this  result  was  attained  without  the  lavish  expenditure  of  money 
that  attended  the  efforts  of  other  competing  points,  or  the  pledg- 
ing the  faith  of  the  county  for  the  payment  of  enormous  sums 
of  money  as  a  bonus,  is  a  matter  of  congratulation,  and  proves  to 
us  that  in  locating  this  college,  the  legislature  was  actuated  by 
higher  considerations  than  money  alone.  That  the  beauty  of  our 
scenery,  the  fertility  and  varied  character  of  our  soil,  and  with- 
out egotism,  we  may  add,  the  energj'-  and  intelligence  of  our  cit- 
izens were  the  levers  that  moored  the  Agricultural  College  within 
our  midst. ' ' 

On  the  part  of  Champaign  county's  competitors  there  was 
a  natural  disappointment  because  they  had  made  a  great  effort 
and  had  been  defeated.  Added  to  this  disappointment  was  bit- 
terness because  they  earnestly  believed  that  they  and  the  state 
also,  had  been  cheated.  They  based  their  complaints  on  the 
grievance  that  the  university  had  gone  to  the  lowest  bidder — 
McLean  having  bid  at  least  $200,000  more,  according  to  the  report 
of  a  committee  of  the  legislature,  and  also  on  that  of  unfair 
methods — especially  in  the  use  of  a  "slush"  fund  to  influence 
unduly  members  of  the  legislature. 

The  parties  that  were  exasperated  beyond  limit  at  this  sit- 
uation were  the  organized  agriculturists  of  the  state  headed  by 
J.  B.  Turner  and  a  small  group  of  men  who  had  worked  with 
him  for  sixteen  weary  years  in  the  interests  of  industrial 
education.  To  them  it  seemed  as  though  the  whole  project  had 
gone  to  smash  on  the  rocks.  A  few  days  following  the  enactment 
of  the  law  locating  the  university  a  report  was  published  by  the 
committee  appointed  at  the  state  fair  in  Decatur  and  reappointed 
by  the  Bloomington  convention  in  December,  1865.  This  state- 
ment, which  was  made  to  the  people  of  the  state  concerning  the 
action  of  the  committee  and  the  cause  of  its  failure  to  secure 
the  charter  proposed,  was  signed  by  J.  B.  Turner  and  was  printed 
and  sent  out  on  request  of  the  members  of  the  committee  who 
were  present  at'  Springfield  during  the  contest.  It  was  chiefly 
a  scathing  arraignment  of  what  the  committee  called  the 
"Champaign  ring"  and  of  those  members  of  the  legislature 


236  History  Universidj  of  Illinois 

who  supported  it.  The  tone  was  undoubtedly  bitter,  the  lan- 
guage at  times  decidedly  strong  and  the  statements  in  spite  of 
prejudice  uncomfortably  near  the  truth. 

Among  the  leading  charges  against  Champaign  county  were : 
that  it  professed  a  desire  to  keep  the  funds  undivided  and  then 
in  order  to  secure  votes  from  Chicago  and  Egypt  it  violated  its 
pledge,  that  it  was  interested  in  industrial  education  only  for 
the  purpose  to  foist  on  the  state  the  "elephant" — the  result  of 
a  speculative  scheme  that  had  failed,  that  it  had  tried  to  bribe 
Turner  by  offering  to  elect  liim  regent  and  thus  get  him  to  be- 
tray the  agriculturists,  that  it  had  indulged  in  log-rolling  in  re- 
gard to  the  location  of  the  state  capital,  a  branch  of  the  insane 
asylum,  and  a  canal  and  river  scheme,  that  it  employed  a  ' '  slush ' ' 
fund  to  buy  up  correspondents  of  the  press,  editors,  legislators 
and  others  needed,  and  that  it  had  greatly  overvalued  its  bid  to 
the  state  as  the  report  of  a  legislative  committee  showed. 

In  the  long  report  there  is  only  one  hopeful  note  and  that  is 
found  in  the  last  paragraph  in  which  the  author  wrote:  "But 
w^e  do  not,  after  all,  in  the  least  despair  of  the  great  and  good 
cause  of  popular  Industrial  Education.  These  western  states 
must  and  will  learn  to  organize  and  control  institutions  so  indis- 
pensable to  their  prolonged  republican  existence  and  life  and 
power."  ^^ 

The  interval  between  the  passing  of  the  supplementary 
act  of  March  8,  1867,  and  June  1,  1867,  within  which  Cham- 
paign county  had  to  make  good  her  titles  and  get  the  approval  of 
the  people  of  the  county  to  the  bond  issue  of  $100,000  was  crit- 
ical and  had  possibilities  of  disaster.  There  were  serious  oppon- 
ents to  the  project  within  Champaign  county 's  own  borders  and 
there  were  those  without  who  would  gladly  have  humiliated 
Champaign.  The  publication  of  a  "History  of  the  Champaign 
'Elephant,'  by  One  of  the  'King'  "  in  the  Chicago  Times  just 
a  week  or  two  before  Champaign  county  was  to  vote  on  the  bond 
issue  was  calculated  no  doubt  to  cause  dissension  in  the  ranks 
and  if  possible  defeat  the  plan.^o  It  pretended  to  be  an  expose  by 
a  member  of  the  "ring"  who,  disappointed  by  his  failure  to 

^°The  report  in  full  is  given  in  appendix,  p.  492. 

■"Chicago  Times,  March  21,  1867,  and  printed  in  full  below  p.  506. 


The  TJniversity  Located  267 

obtain  the  "chair  of  moral  philosophy"  in  the  institution,  turned 
"state's  evidence."  It  seems  probable  rather  that  the  extended 
article  was  written  by  a  clever  reporter  who  had  been  in  touch 
with  the  situation  at  Springfield  during  the  preceding  months. 
Behind  the  tone  of  raillery  and  slang  expressions  there  are  some 
very  keen  thrusts  and  like  the  report  of  Turner  it  was  in  its 
statements  uncomfortably  near  the  truth. 

The  article  declared  that  the  "ring"  had  a  corruption  fund, 
that  the  Urbana-Champaign  institute  was  a  speculative  scheme 
that  was  a  failure,  that  the  press  was  subsidized,  that  a  suite  of 
rooms  at  the  Leland  was  engaged  at  the  trifling  cost  of  $30  a 
day ;  it  estimated  Champaign 's  offering  as  having  cost  the  county 
$200,000  and  the  "corruption"  fund  at  $29,800  and  then  re- 
hearsed a  lot  of  the  arguments  to  be  used  in  Champaign  county  to 
persuade  the  people  to  vote  the  bond  issue.  The  Urbana-Cham- 
paign people  were  not  to  be  defeated  even  by  such  clever  attacks. 
Meetings  were  arranged  in  the  various  precincts  of  the  county 
and  speakers  explained  the  benefits  that  would  come  to  the 
county  if  the  bond  issue  was  passed.  The  election  for  or  against 
an  appropriation  of  $100,000  to  secure  the  industrial  university 
was  held  on  April  10,  1867,  and  carried  in  favor  of  the  appropri- 
ation by  a  vote  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  to 
five  hundred  and  eighty-two.-^ 

Already  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  industrial  university 
had  held  its  first  meeting  in  Springfield  and  had  organized 
for  work.  It  now  became  imperative  that  the  deeds  and  titles 
to  the  various  lands  and  other  property  offered  the  state  should 
be  made  secure  and  ready  to  present  to  the  board  of  trustees 
at  its  next  meeting  in  May  at  the  institute  building.  The  many 
details  in  regard  to  the  purchase  of  the  land  for  the  Urbana- 
Champaign  institute,  the  purchase  by  the  county  of  these  and 
other  lands,  and  the  transfer  to  the  state  cover  a  period  of  some 
eight  years  and  the  whole  subject  is  now  at  a  distance  of  fifty 
years.  It  has  been  difficult,  therefore,  to  get  a  clear  and  accurate 
account.  The  following  statements  have  been  carefully  verified 
from  the  records  and  compared  with  the  best  contemporaiy 
accounts  from  various  sources. 


^Reports  of  the  hoard  of  supervisors,  April  2.3,  18G7,  p.  51.3. 


268  History  University  of  Illinois 

The  lands  purchased  in  1860  by  the  promoters  Stoughton, 
Babeock,  and  Harvey,  consisted  of  one  hundred  ninety-three 
and  nine-tenths  acres  and  cost  $19,298.79.-2  Harvey  sold  his 
one-third  interest  in  all  the  lands  purchased  to  Stoughton  and 
Babeock  on  September  11,  1861,  for  an  amount  not  mentioned 
in  the  records.  About  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  were  platted 
and  laid  off  in  town  lots — the  number  was  approximately  six 
hundred  and  twenty-four  as  shown  on  the  plat.  On  five  and 
seventy-five  hundredths  acres,  including  besides  alleys,  twelve 
lots,  a  seminary  was  constructed  and  to  these  grounds  there  were 
added  later  between  four  and  five  acres. 

The  cost  to  Champaign  county  of  buildings,  grounds,  farms, 
and  bonds  given  to  the  state  for  the  location  of  the  Illinois  in- 
dustrial university  was  as  follows: 

Seminary  building  and  grounds,  about  eight  acres, 
$40,000  ;-^  the  Busey  farm  of  four  hundred  and  five  and  twelve- 
hundredths  acres  $28,700  ;24  the  Griggs  farm  of  four  hundred 
acres  $22,000  ;25  an  additional  farm — one  hundred  sixty  acres 
near  Cemeterj%  $14,510 1^"  fruit  and  other  trees  from  M.  L.  Dun- 
lap  $2,000.27  Champaign  county  bonds  $100,000,28  making  the 
total  paid  by  the  county  for  the  above  items  $207,210.  The 
Illinois  Central  gave  $50,000  in  freight,  the  cash  value  of  which 
was  estimated  by  the  legislative  committee  at  $35,000.  The  total 
cash  value  of  all  items  given  to  the  state  by  Champaign  county 
was  $242,210,  the  same  being  estimated  by  the  legislative  com- 
mittee in  1867  at  $285,000  and  estimated  by  the  Champaign 

^=Shown  in  three  deeds,  recorded  in  Book  R,  pp.  549,  550,  634. 

="Dced  made  April  25,  1867,  Book  9,  p.  173  and  filed  May  10,  1867. 

^.  H.  Busey  to  the  trustees  of  the  industrial  university,  Book  10,  p. 
25,  26. 

^Clark  E.  Griggs  to  the  board  of  trustees,  May  10,  1867,  Book  7,  p.  305. 

^'Four  deeds :  Jesse  and  Henry  Clements  of  Ohio,  April  26,  1867,  filed 
fifty-three  and  thirteen  twentieths  acres;  Morris  Burt,  May  10,  1867,  filed 
seven  acres  in  Book  9,  page  170 ;  Albert  G.  Carle,  May  10,  1867,  filed  eighty 
acres  in  Book  9,  p.  171;  Jesse  Burt,  May  10,  1867,  filed  twenty-one  acres  in 
Book  9,  p.  172. 

*'Eeported  in  the  proceedings  of  the  supervisors'  meetings,  September 
18,  1867,  p.  548. 

^Voted  April  10,  1867;  in  proceedings  of  the  supervisors'  meetings, 
p.  513. 


The  University  Located  269 

county  committee  in  its  report  included  in  the  law  of  Febmary 
28,  1867,  at  $450,000. 

There  came  to  the  treasury  of  Champaign  county  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  lots,  the  residue  of  those  unsold  and  turned 
over  to  Champaign  county  by  Stoughton  and  Babcock  in  May, 
1867.2^  A  local  newspaper  of  the  time  estimated  them  as  being 
worth  $50,000,  As  lots  were  actually  selling  in  this  addition 
during  these  years  as  shown  from  the  record  that  estimate  was 
about  double  their  value.  Of  the  other  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  lots  that  had  been  laid  off  a  few — perhaps  twenty-four — 
had  been  included  in  the  seminary  grounds,  some  had  gone  with 
shares  to  stockholders,  the  great  bulk  of  them  had  been  sold  by 
Stoughton  and  Babcock  during  the  years  1860  to  1867.  The 
records  show  that  many  sold  from  $50  to  $250  a  lot.  Apparently 
80  acres  of  the  original  one  hundred  ninety-three  and  nine- 
tenths  acres  were  not  platted  and  undoubtedly  were  sold  separ- 
ately. 

Above  is  shown  what  Champaign  county  actually  paid  for 
the  property  it  gave  the  state.  What  did  the  county,  to^vnship, 
cities,  and  citizens  actually  appropriate  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining the  industrial  university? 

From  a  careful  comparison  of  records  and  reports  the  fol- 
lowing seem  to  be  certain:  appropriated  by  the  county  super- 
visors in  December,  1864,  $5,000,  October,  1865,  $100,000,  April 
10,  1867,  $100,000,  a  total  of  $205,000 ;  appropriated  by  the  town- 
ships of  Urbana  and  Champaign  in  March  1867,  $45,000  of  which 
amount  only  $30,878.99  was  spent  ;'^*^  appropriated  by  the  councils 

"See  deed  of  Stoughton  and  Babcock  to  N.  M.  Clark,  trustee  for  the 
county,  Book  9,  p  152.  the  plot  being  in  Book  Y,  p.  208. 

"The  items  for  which  the  $30,878.99  was  spent  are  given  in  a  report 
signed  by  Thomas  Cosgrove,  W.  D.  Somers  and  C.  A.  Morehouse.  Many  of 
these,  perhaps  all,  can  be  verified  from  the  records  of  the  township  of  Urbana 
and  Champaign.  It  does  not  appear  from  this  record  for  what  purposes  the 
$12,500  borrowed  from  D.  Garner  &  Co.  and  $3,000  borrowed  from  banks 
were  expended.  This  committee  reported  to  the  supervisors  on  April  23, 
1867,  that  these  borrowed  sums  were  expended  "judicially  and  cautiously" 
for  the  location  of  the  university. 

"Cash  paid:  To  W.  Campbell,  for  land  $5,300,  Jesse  Burt,  for  land 
$2,210,  Morris  Burt,  for  land  $1,000,  National  Bank,  for  money  and  interest 
as  per  note  $1,047.78,  D.  Gardner  &  Co.  money  and  interest  as  per  note 
$1,047.78,  Exchange  Bank,  for  money  and  interest  as  per  note  $1,045.83,  D. 


270  History  Vniversiiy  of  Illinois 

of  the  twin  cities  in  December,  18G6,  Champaign  $300  and  Ur- 
bana  $200,  making  a  total  of  $500;  donated  by  the  citizens  of 
Champaign,  April,  1867,  $2,000  and  of  Urbana  $1,000,  making 
a  total  of  $3,000,  while  the  total  amount  spent  was  $239,378.39. 

The  conclusion  seems  to  be  from  the  records  found  that 
Champaign  county  and  citizens  of  same  contributed  $239,378.39 
and  that  Champaign  county  paid  in  cash  for  property  given 
the  state  $207,210  leaving  the  amount  used  for  other  purposes 
at  $32,168.39.  Of  this  latter  amount  the  county  paid  out  to 
local  men  for  services  rendered,  for  printing  and  other  incidental 
expenses  some  $13,536,  leaving  about  $16,789,  spent  for  purposes 
not  mentioned.  Apparently  it  was  this  sum  of  $32,168.39  which 
the  county  had  available  to  aid  in  securing  the  location  of  the 
university,  that  "was  called  the  ''corruption"  fund  by  the  oppon- 
ents of  Champaign  county.  They  estimated  it,  as  has  been  noted, 
at  from  $29,000  to  $40,000.  C.  R.  Griggs,  Champaign's  repre- 
sentative, who  very  likely  knew  more  about  this  than  any  other 
man  of  the  time,  said  they  had  $40,000  to  use  in  securing  the 
location  of  the  university,  for  w^hich  amount  they  were  not  re- 
quired to  give  account.  It  is  possible  more  was  used — secured 
by  subscription  or  otherwise — for  these  particular  purposes  than 
the  $32,168.39  that  the  records  show.  The  records  do  not  show 
that  any  of  it  w^as  used  in  an  illegal  manner. 

Not  in  justification  of  any  act,  or  methods  of  w^rong  doing, 
if  any  such  were  employed,  but  rather  as  an  explanation  it  should 
be  said  that  honesty  at  this  period  "svas  largely  a  matter  of  per- 
sonal not  public  conscience.    Many  honest  citizens  commended, 

Gardner,  loaned  $12,500,  D.  Gardner,  for  interest  on  same  $412,  Shannon  & 
Johnson,  livery  hire  $10,  Phillips,  for  livery  hire  $10,  Ermentrout  &  Alex- 
ander per  order  of  Somers  $10,  W.  D.  Somers,  for  services  rendered  $500, 
B.  E.  Morehouse,  for  services  rendered  $100,  T.  R.  Webber  for  services  ren- 
dered $300,  J.  O.  Cunningham  for  services  rendered  $100,  L.  A.  McLean  for 
services  rendered  $100,  G.  W.  Flynn  for  services  rendered  $100,  O.  O.  Alex- 
ander for  services  rendered  $50,  O.  O.  Alexander  paid  for  abstracts  $40,  F. 
G.  Jacques,  for  services  rendered  $50,  W.  H.  Somers  for  services  rendered 
$50,  Thomas  J.  Smith  for  services  rendered  $50,  T.  A.  Cosgrove  for  services 
rendered  $500,  J.  W.  Seroggs  for  services  rendered  $500,  M.  L.  Diinlap  for 
services  rendered  $500,  G.  W.  Flynn,  for  printing  $0.60,  expenses  negotiating 
bonds  east  $185,  discount  on  bonds  $900,  retained  for  B.  Burroughs,  ser- 
vices rendered  $100,  retained  for  John  S.  B'nsey  for  services  rendered  $100, 
M.  L.  Dunlap  for  trees  $2,000. 


The  University  Located  271 

no  doubt,  shrewd  manipulations  and  so-called  "cautious  and 
judicious"  use  of  money  that  secured  advantages  for  themselves 
or  their  community.  There  is  no  desire,  probably,  at  home  or 
abroad  to  make  the  transactions  of  those  years  appear  worse  than 
they  were. 

Rightly  or  wrongly,  intentionally  or  unintentionally,  a  most 
unfortunate  result  immediately  followed  the  act  locating  the 
industrial  university.  This  result  was  the  alienation  of  the 
organized  agriculturists  of  the  state,  led,  as  has  been  noted  fre- 
quently, by  Turner,  Reynolds,  Galusha,  Pennell  and  others.  How 
great  was  this  misfortune  and  how  far  reaching  in  its  conse- 
quences will  be  shown  in  succeeding  chapters. 


272  History  i')iivcrsity  of  Illinois 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  ILLINOIS  INDUSTRIAL  UNIVERSITY 
ORGANIZES  FOR  WORK 

Two  utterly  dissimilar  groups  of  men  had  now  done  their 
work  for  the  industrial  university.  The  first,  with  Jonathan  B. 
Turner  at  the  head,  had  fought  valiantly  and  intelligently  for  an 
idea;  the  second,  with  Clark  R.  Griggs  at  the  head,  had  fought 
dauntlessly  and  shrewdly  for  a  political  plum.  The  Turner 
group  felt  when  the  industrial  university  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Griggs  group  which  secured  its  location,  that  its  work  had 
been  lost,  that  the  fund  which  would  have  meant  so  much  for 
the  education  of  the  industrial  classes  would  be  dissipated.  The 
university  now  passed  on  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  third  group — 
the  first  board  of  trustees,  with  the  first  regent  of  the  university, 
John  Milton  Gregory,  at  its  head. 

To  the  industrial  men,  it  was  cause  for  foreboding  that  many 
members  of  the  newly  appointed  board  of  trustees  belonged  to 
a  particular  religious  denomination  and  especially  disastrous  that 
the  regent,  or  president,  was  a  minister  of  that  denomination. 
The  reason  for  this  attitude  is  found  in  a  statement  made  by 
Turner  to  the  Bloomington  convention  of  1860,  to  the  effect  that 
to  place  a  clergyman  at  the  head  of  an  agricultural  college  would 
be  as  serious  a  blunder  as  to  place  General  Scott  with  his  vivid 
hcaven-and-hell-searching  vocabulary  at  the  head  of  a  theologi- 
cal seminary.!  And  now  this  very  thing  had  come  to  pass  in 
Illinois.  It  had  happened,  too,  not  by  accident  or  coincidence 
but  "by  ways  that  Avere  dark  and  by  tricks"  more  or  less  "vain." 

According  to  law,  the  board  of  trustees,  consisted  of  one 
tnistee  from  each  congressional  district,  thirteen  in  all,  and 
five  from  each  one  of  the  three  grand  judicial  divisions  of  the 
state.  After  appointment  by  the  governor,  it  was  noted  that 
the  members  displayed  remarkable  unanimity  upon  one  point — 
the  denomination  of  their  religion.     A  considerable  proportion 

^Chicago  Weekly  Times,  June  27,  1860. 


University  Organizes  273 

were  of  the  Baptist  faith,  and  at  least  three  were  clergymen  of 
that  denomination.2  Observers  were  not  lacking  who  made  this 
the  subject  of  comment  and  it  is  told  that  Dr.  Fred  Wines,  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman  of  Springfield,  having  heard  of  this, 
sought  out  the  governor  and  asked:  "When  did  you  become  a 
Baptist?"  "Who  said  I  was  a  Baptist!"  "Well,  I  see  you 
have  appointed  a  majority  of  Baptists  as  trustees  of  the  new 
Industrial  University,  and  I  supposed  you  had  become  a  Baptist 
yourself. ' '  A  little  inquiry  satisfied  Governor  Oglesby  that  the 
new  board  was,  indeed,  largely  Baptist.  He  remembered  then 
that  certain  estimable  gentlemen  had  slipped  lists  of  names  into 
his  hand,  quietly  suggesting  that,  if  they  met  the  governor's 
approbation,  these  men  were  exceedingly  well  qualified  to  serve 
upon  the  new  board.  The  executive  mind  had  been  open  to 
conviction ;  the  appointments  had  been  made,  and,  the  reverend 
informer  avers,  when  the  governor  realized  he  had  been  made 
the  victim  of  a  conspiracy  in  the  interest  of  a  particular  denom- 
ination, he  swore  a  blue  streak.  The  chief  harm  was  in  the  fact 
that  this  thing  had  been  done.  The  bias  looked  for  by  some  did 
not  appear,  unless,  perhaps,  the  first  election  of  a  regent  is  ex- 
cepted. As  for  Dr.  Gregory,  if  he  was  chosen  with  any  expecta- 
tion of  giving  a  denominational  bias  to  the  university,  those  who 
voted  for  him  must  have  felt  disappointment,  for  it  would  be 
difficult,  in  his  long  administration,  to  point  out  anything  in  his 
action  tending  in  that  direction. 

The  new  board,  despite  the  method  of  appointment,  was  an 
average  one.  Better  material  could  have  been  chosen;  worse 
was  equally  available.  Dissension  of  various  sorts  was  ready 
made,  for  several  of  the  members  had  opposed  the  location  of  the 
new  university  at  Urbana,  and  came  to  the  first  meeting  prepared 
to  oppose  the  proposition  that  the  location  was  final  until  they 
were  convinced  beyond  chance  of  cavil  that  there  were  no  latent 
defects  in  the  titles  of  the  lands  granted.  Most  of  the  members 
of  the  board,  doubtless,  were  innocent  of  sound  ideas  or  convic- 
tions upon  the  subject  of  agricultural  education;  they  merely 
had  a  vague  notion  accented  by  a  strong  feeling  that  something  of 
the  sort  was  wanted.     A  few  had  been  associates  and  warm 


Khinningham  manuscript  at  University  of  Illinois. 


274  History  University  of  Illinois 

friends  of  Turner.  One  of  these,  M.  L.  Dunlap  of  Champaign 
county,  was  articulate,  alert.  Whenever  the  new  institution  be- 
gan a  comfortable  straying  into  the  ruts  of  the  old  education,  he 
was  on  hand  to  prod  it  out;  sometimes  not  ^visely,  but  usually 
very  well. 

Besides  the  twenty-eight  appointments  to  the  board  made 
by  the  governor,  there  were  four  members  ex  officio — the  gover- 
nor, the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  state  agricultural  society,  and  the  regent  of  the  uni- 
versity, who  was  also  to  be  president  of  the  board.  At  the  first 
meeting  held  in  Springfield,  March  12,  1867,  in  the  hall  of  the 
house  of  representatives  a  temporary  organization  was  effected 
by  the  election  of  Governor  Oglesby  as  chairman  and  James  Rea 
as  recording  secretary.  Under  the  law  the  first  business  to  be 
transacted  by  the  new  board  was  the  election  of  a  regent,  which 
all  who  understood  felt  to  be  a  position  of  great  difficulty.  Dr. 
John  Milton  Gregory,  president  of  Kalamazoo  college,  Michigan, 
was  chosen.  Several  of  the  board  members  who  knew  him  per- 
sonally spoke  in  unqualified  terms,  of  his  ability  and  energy .^ 
It  is  related  that  Thomas  Quick,  who  had  heard  Dr.  Gregory 
preach  in  Chicago  and  later  investigated  his  work,  was  so  im- 
pressed that  he  urged  him  for  regent  most  earnestly. 

Dr.  John  Milton  Gregory  was  a  graduate  of  Union  college, 
New  York,  studied  law,  and  for  a  brief  period  served  as  min- 
ister for  a  Baptist  church.  The  fact  that  he  was  a  Baptist  min- 
ister has  been  over-emphasized.  It  should  be  noted  that  he  did 
not  have  a  theological  education.  He  was  essentially  an  educator 
and  was  so  considered  by  his  family,  friends,  and  contemporaries 
who  knew  him  best.  His  early  life  was  spent  among  farmers, 
as  his  father  was  a  farmer  and  tanner  by  trade.  In  early  boy- 
hood he  read  widely  owing  to  the  fortunate  fact  that  a  circulating 
library  was  kept  in  his  home.  What  he  read  he  discoursed  to  the 
workmen  about  his  father's  place,  thereby  obtaining  invaluable 
practice  in  imparting  what  he  had  learned,  a  practice  all  the 
more  effective  because  it  was  spontaneous. 

His  education  he  obtained  by  his  own  efforts,  teaching  and 
studying  alternately.  Following  his  brief  ministry  he  was  for 
Hhid. 


University  Organizes  275 

a  time  a  teacher  and  an  editor  of  an  educational  journal,  then 
for  three  terms  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  for 
Michigan  and  was  president  of  Kalamazoo  college,  a  Baptist 
institution,  when  called  to  the  regency  of  the  new  Illinois  indus- 
trial university.  He  was  a  fine,  virile,  definite  man,  who  knew 
what  was  in  his  own  mind  and  Avas  able  to  give  it  expression. 

It  may  be  true  that  he  had  come  to  the  task  of  organizing  the 
new  industrial  university  with  a  deeper  reverence  for  the  classics 
than  was  precisely  necessary  for  that  section  of  the  corn  belt. 
If  true  it  was  a  reverence  that  was  susceptible  of  modification. 
But  Dr.  Gregory  had  received  special  training  and  experience 
for  his  new  work,  of  which  those  who  have  written  of  him  appar- 
ently have  been  unaware  or  else  have  ignored.  From  1859  to 
1865  Dr.  Gregoiy  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  that 
controlled  and  managed  the  State  Agricultural  College  of 
Michigan.  As  secretary  of  that  board  and  as  state  superinten- 
dent he  was  an  influential  member  and  upon  him  devolved  much 
of  the  labor  of  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  college. 

In  his  first  report  as  state  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion in  Michigan  is  found  an  expression  of  his  ideas  of  agricul- 
tural education.  "No  department  of  human  industry,"  he  said, 
"seems  to  furnish  a  wider  field  for  professional  education,  than 
that  of  agriculture,  and  none  more  urgently  demands  the  aid  of 
such  education."  ^  He  thought  the  project  of  building  an  agri- 
cultural college  was  eminently  wise  and  farsighted  and  he  did  not 
consider  it  premature  as  some  claimed.  He  had  a  hand  in  remod- 
elling the  organization  and  the  courses  of  instruction  of  the 
state  college  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  "more  purely  a  pro- 
fessional school,  so  that  it  shall  be  sought  not  by  those  who  merely 
wish  a  general  education,  but  by  those  who  desire  to  fit  themselves 
for  practical  and  scientific  agriculturists. ' '  ^ 

The  difficulty  of  accomplishing  these  things  he  understood 
even  then  for  he  wrote:  "The  real  obstacles  that  have  lain  in 
the  way  of  its  (the  agricultural  college)  success  have  been  the 
immature  condition  of  the  farm,  and  the  great  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining in  this  country  men  of  competent  scholarship,  united 

*Beport  of  the  superintendent  of  pitblic  instruction,  Michigan,  1859, 
p.  13-15. 

''Ibid.,  126. 


276  Historxj  Vnivcrsifj/  of  Illinois 

with  practical  skill  as  agriculturists,  to  fill  the  various  offices  of 
the  College.  These  difficulties  will  soon  disappear,  as  the  farm 
improves  and  agricultural  science  advances,  and  it  may  be  con- 
fidently expected  that  the  enterprise  will  then  reap  its  desired 
triumphs. '  '*^ 

Thus  Dr.  Gregory  had  already  faced  the  problems  of  creat- 
ing an  agricultural  college  in  a  western  state.  The  questions  of 
the  purpose  of  such  an  institution,  of  its  finances,  of  its  admin- 
istration, of  its  courses  of  instruction,  had  all  been  thought  over, 
discussed,  and  in  many  cases  acted  upon  by  Dr.  Gregory  some 
eight  years  before  he  was  called  upon  to  aid  in  organizing  the 
Illinois  Industrial  university.  Even  Turner,  with  his  deeper 
knowledge,  perhaps,  of  agriculture  and  the  needs  of  the  industrial 
classes  had  not  this  practical  training  and  experience  in  the 
actual  organization  and  development  of  an  agricultural  college. 
Had  these  facts  in  regard  to  Dr.  Gregoiy  been  properly  recog- 
nized when  he  became  regent,  it  would  have  saved  very  prob- 
ably some  serious  misunderstandings  of  the  next  few  years. 

The  most  important  business  at  this  first  meeting,  next  to 
the  election  of  the  regent,'  was  in  connection  with  the  polytech- 
nic branch  of  the  university  which  it  was  proposed  to  establish 
in  Chicago.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  proposition  for  a 
school  of  mechanic  arts  in  Chicago  appeared  at  the  session  of 
the  general  assembly  in  1865.  Although  not  clearly  stated  in 
section  three  of  the  charter  granted  in  1867,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  what  was  especially  meant  was  a  polytechnic  department  in 
Chicago.  This  section  was  valuable  because  it  aroused  enthusi- 
asm in  the  Chicago  contingent  who  liked  the  thought  of  a  poly- 
technic branch  of  the  great  new  university  in  their  fair  city ;  and 
it  brought  to  the  charter  strong  support  Avhich,  as  may  be  cas- 
ually mentioned,  was  sorely  needed  and  could  have  been  obtained 
in  no  other  way. 

At  the  first  meeting  the  members  of  the  board  of  trustees 
residing  in  the  third  grand  judicial  division  and  first  congres- 
sional  district   were  empowered   to   receive   contributions   and 

'Ibid.,  14. 

'Besides  the  regent,  other  officers  elected  at  the  first  meeting  of  the 
board  were  John  W.  Bunn,  treasurer,  Willard  C.  Flagg,  corresponding  sec- 
retary, and  O.  B.  Galusha,  recording  secretary. 


University  Organizes  277 

subscriptions  for  the  new  branch.^  The  committee  proceeded  to 
action  in  entire  good  faith  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  board  in 
November,  1868  a  communication  from  the  common  council  of 
Chicago  was  presented  in  regard  to  establishing  such  a  depart- 
ment in  Chicago  and  to  the  action  of  the  board  thereon.^  In 
a  word  the  council  offered  to  donate  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  for  the  endowment  of  the  mechanical  depart- 
ment of  the  university  if  legislative  authority  for  the  issuance 
of  bonds  to  that  amount  could  be  obtained,  provided  the  trustees 
agreed  to  establish  the  department  in  Chicago  upon  receipt  of 
the  donation.  Therefore  the  following  resolution  was  adopted 
without  a  dissenting  voice : 

"Resolved,  That  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  of  this 
board  of  March  13th,  1867,  establishing  a  Mechanical  Depart- 
ment of  the  Industrial  University  at  Chicago,  as  near  as  possi- 
ble to  the  center  of  the  city,  the  members  of  this  Board  residing 
in  the  Third  Grand  Division  and  First  Congressional  District 
be,  and  they  are  hereby,  instructed  to  accept  said  proposition 
and  notify  the  said  city  thereof;  and  they  are  authorized  and 
instructed  to  execute  and  deliver  such  contracts  as  may  be  nec- 
essary or  proper  in  the  premises. 

''I.  S.  Mahan, 
Chairman  of  Committee." 

This  is  the  last  reference  to  the  polytechnic  department  in 
Chicago.  It  died  on  paper.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  city 
of  Chicago  ever  sought  legislative  authority  therefor.  It  would 
seem,  as  the  agriculturists  and  others  had  said,  that  the  whole 
scheme  of  establishing  departments  in  Chicago  and  other  parts 
of  the  state  had  not  been  made  in  good  faith  but  merely  to  catch 
votes. 

The  second  meeting  ^^  of  the  board  of  trustees  which  was 
held  in  Urbana  May  7,  8,  and  9,  1867,  was  presided  over  by  the 
regent.    Dr.  Gregory  was  to  receive  four  thousand  dollars  a  year 


^First  annual  report  of  the  hoard  of  trustees,  27. 

^Second  annual  report  of  the  hoard  of  trustees,  40. 

"Between  the  first  and  second  meetings  of  the  board  of  trustees  occurred 
a  stormy  part  of  the  struggle  for  the  location  ahcady  referred  to  in 
chapter  X. 


278  History  Universily  of  Illinois 

for  his  services,  more  by  a  thousand  dollars  than  the  board  had 
at  first  proposed  to  offer.  At  this  meeting  the  question  of  the 
location  of  the  university  was  settled  for  good  and  all.  Thomas 
Bonfield,  a  lawyer  of  Kankakee  county,  hired  to  examine  the 
deeds,  abstracts,  certificates  of  election,  and  bonds  offered  by 
Champaign  county,  found  the  titles  all  without  latent  defects; 
whereupon  the  following  was  read  by  A.  M.  Brown  of  Pulaski 
county,  and  unanimously  adopted : 

''WHEREAS,  the  county  of  Champaign  has  caused  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  Uni- 
versity, by  good  and  unimcumbered  titles,  the  building  and 
grounds  known  as  the  Urbana  and  Champaign  Institute,  de- 
scribed as  follows  :  Commencing  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
southwest  quarter  of  the  south-east  quarter  of  section  seven  (7), 
town  nineteen  (19)  range  nine  (9)  east;  running  thence  east 
four  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet;  thence  south  seven  hundred 
(700)  feet;  thence  west  four  hundred  and  sixty-two  (462)  feet; 
thence  north  seven  hundred  (700)  feet,  to  the  place  of  beginning. 
Also,  a  part  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  number  eighteen 
(18),  in  said  township,  as  follows;  Beginning  at  the  north-east 
corner  of  said  tract;  thence  west  eighty  (80)  rods;  thence  south 
one  hundred  and  seven  and  thirty  one-hundredths  (107  30.100) 
rods;  thence  east  eighty  (80)  rods;  thence  north  one  hundred 
and  seven  and  thirty  one-hundredths  (107  30.100)  rods,  to  the 
place  of  beginning.  Also  twenty-eight  (28)  acres  off  the  north 
side  of  the  south  half  of  the  south-east  quarter  of  said  section 
number  eighteen  (18).  Also,  the  north  half  of  the  south-east 
quarter  of  said  section  eighteen  (18).  Also,  the  north-west  quar- 
ter of  section  ninteen  (19),  in  said  township.  Also,  the  north 
half  of  the  south-west  quarter,  the  south  half  of  the  north-east 
quarter,  the  north-west  quarter  of  the  south-east  quarter,  and 
the  north-east  quarter  of  the  north-east  quarter,  of  said  section 
nineteen  (19).  Also,  the  south  half  and  the  south  half  of  the 
north-east  quarter  of  section  twenty-one  (21),  in  said  toAvnship; 
and, 

"WHEREAS,  also,  said  county  of  Champaign  has  issued 
under  the  forms  of  law,  and  delivered  to  said  Board  of  Trustees, 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  bonds  of  said  county,  due 


University  Organizes  279 

and  payable  ten  years  hence,  bearing  interest  at  ten  per  cent, 
per  annum ;  and, 

''WHEREAS,  also,  the  contract  of  M.  L.  Dunlap  for  the 
delivering,  upon  the  order  of  the  said  Board,  of  fruit,  shade 
and  ornamental  trees  and  shrubbery,  to  the  value  of  two  thous- 
and dollars  has  also  been  delivered  to  this  Board ;  and, 

"WHEREAS,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  has 
likewise  assured  to  said  Board  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars 
in  freight  over  said  Road:  and  in  consideration  of  the  forego- 
ing premises,  therefore  be  it, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  be  and 
the  same  hereby  is  permanently  located  at  Urbana,  Champaign 
County,  Illinois,"  ^^ 

The  adoption  of  this  resolution  caused  a  different  and  dis- 
tinctly more  fortunate  feeling  to  permeate  the  meetings. i- 
Trustees  who  before  had  looked  askance  at  the  tender  of  com- 
pliance on  the  part  of  the  county  of  Champaign  now  took  hold  of 
affairs  as  if  they  always  had  believed  in  the  good  faith  of  the 
county. 

The  first  necessity  in  the  organization  of  the  new  university 
was  money.  The  university  owned  four  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  acres  of  land  scrip  of  uncertain  value  but  could  not 
command  enough  hard  cash  to  buy  a  record  book.  Some  means 
had  to  be  devised  whereby  ready  money  could  be  obtained. 
At  the  May  meeting  the  treasurer  was  instructed  to  sell  one 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  acres  of  the  land  scrip  on  the  best 
possible  terms.  But  this  did  not  remove  the  difficulty.  The  fed- 
eral act  provided  that  the  fund  arising  from  sales  of  this  grant 
should  never  be  used,  except  as  an  endownnent,  the  proceeds 
only  being  available  for  the  expenses  of  the  institution.  ^^     Con- 

"^First  annu<il  report  O'f  the  hoard  of  trustees,  35. 

"Cunningham  manuscripts;  Judge  Cunningham,  a  resident  of  Urbana, 
was  instrumental  in  securing  and  perfecting  deeds  and  titles  to  the  property 
offered  to  the  university.  Shortly  before  his  death,  he  informed  the  writer 
that  he  himself  had  carried  the  papers  and  deeds  to  the  May  meeting  of 
the  board  of  trustees. 

"The  federal  law  did  provide  that  ten  per  cent  of  the  fund  might  be 
used  for  the  purchase  of  land  for  sites  in  experimental  farms,  if  authorized 
by  the  legislature.    Federal  Law,  1862,  section  5,  paragraph  1. 


280  History  University  of  Illinois 

sequently  an  evasion  was  resorted  to.  This  money,  or  as  much 
of  it  as  was  needed,  was  transferred  to  the  funds  for  improve- 
ments and  other  expenses,  the  irregularity  being  excused  in  the 
following  way:  it  was  ordered  that  the  money  arising  from  the 
sale  of  scrip,  or  a  sufficient  sum  thereof,  be  invested  in  the  bonds 
of  Champaign  county  held  by  the  board  as  a  part  of  the  bonus 
paid,  and  those  bonds  be  transferred  to  the  pennanent  endow- 
ment as  the  representative  of  the  money  so  used.  This  done 
the  board  was  in  possession  of  the  funds  necessary  in  the  pre- 
paration for  the  opening  of  the  university.^'* 

But  just  what  did  the  necessity  for  such  skillful  manipu- 
lation cost  the  university?  It  must  be  confessed  that  it  came 
high.  Cornell  college  which  did  not  part  with  its  lands,  because 
of  the  generous  money  gifts  of  Ezra  Cornell,  in  time  came  to 
enjoy  a  magnificent  sum  through  the  increase  in  value  of  its 
federal  land  endowment.  Illinois  might  have  enjoyed  such  an 
income  had  the  tender  of  McLean  county  which  was  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  higher  than  that  of  Champaign  been  accepted. 
The  report  of  the  federal  bureau  of  education  of  1874  shows  that 
m  that  year  454,  560  of  the  480,000  acres  granted  by  congress 
to  Illinois  had  been  sold  at  a  price  averaging  seventy  cents  per 
acre.  It  is  not  necessaiy  to  point  out  how  great  a  treasure  was 
lost.15 

The  board  then  turned  its  attention  to  the  building  and  the 
grounds  it  had  acquired.     Both  were  uncompromisingly  ugly, 

"Cunningham  manuscripts  and  also  First  annual  report  of  the  board  o<f 
trustees,  37-45. 

'°The  money  obtained  by  the  sale  of  land  scrip  donated  for  the  Illinois 
industrial  university  was  invested  as  follows  according  to  the  report  of  the 
bureau  of  education  of  1874. 

Sangamon  county  9%  bonds $50,000 

Morgan  county  10%  bonds  $25,000 

Pike  county  10%  bonds ,  $30,000 

Chicago  water  7%  bonds  $24,961.80 

Kankakee  county  10%  bonds $29,700 

Putnam  county   10%   bonds $13,000 

Champaign  county  10%  bonds $115,000 

Illinois  state  6%  bonds $31,653.34 

$319,315.14 
Balance  due  scrip  account   178.87 


University  Organizes  281 

sadly  in  need  of  improvement.  The  building  was  unsuitable  in 
many  respects,  the  campus  was  a  desolation  for  wandering  cattle 
and  pigs.  Judge  Cunningham  has  written  a  description  of  the 
appearance  of  the  new  university  which  is  in  rather  strong  con- 
trast to  the  glowing  accounts  given  out  by  local  papers  when  the 
county  was  seeking  the  location. 

''The  building  and  grounds  in  which  our  people  hoped  to 
house  the  new  university,  a  five-story  structure,  with  a  four-story 
ell  on  the  south,  stood  alone  out  on  the  bare  prairie,  unfenced, 
towering  high  above  anything  in  either  town,  and  very  conspic- 
uous for  miles  away.  It  occupied  ground  equal  to  two  squares 
of  the  ordinary  size.  The  line  of  White  Street  in  Champaign 
and  West  Main  in  Urbana  extended,  was  its  south  line  while  on 
the  west  side  Wright  Street,  as  then  laid,  occupied  fifty-two  feet 
of  what  is  now  the  west  side  of  the  north  campus,  or  the  athletic 
park.  The  entrance  to  the  front,  the  north  side  of  the  building, 
was  at  the  natural  grade  line  of  the  ground,  with  no  outside 
steps,  and  the  building  had  an  appearance  suggesting  that,  as  a 
stake,  it  had  been  driven  into  the  ground.  From  the  entrance 
at  the  north  front,  stairs  began  which  led  from  story  to  story 
until  the  upper  or  fifth  had  been  reached.  In  the  front  portion 
of  the  building,  which  was  125  feet  in  length  from  east  to  west, 
were  rooms  to  be  used  for  recitation  rooms  and  dormitories,  while 
in  the  wing  were  more  recitation  rooms  with  kitchen  and  dining 
room,  and  a  chapel  in  the  fourth  story,  the  original  design  hav- 
ing been  to  prepare  for  the  conduct  of  a  boarding  school.  No 
bush  or  shrub  had  ever  grown  upon  that  bare  piece  of  prairie. 
What  was  known  as  the  '  Griggs  Farm, '  part  of  the  donation  of 
400  acres  to  the  State,  lay  away  to  the  southeast  two  and  one- 
half  miles  from  the  building  and  grounds;  the  Busey  Farm  of 
420  acres  was  a  little  over  a  mile  to  the  south;  while  the  160 
acres  farm  commonly  called  the  '  experimental  farm ',  was  a  little 
over  a  half  a  mile  south,  with  a  forty  acre  tract,  half  a  mile  long 
between.  Some  of  the  trustees  questioned  whether  the  latter 
farm  was  in  fact  'adjacent'  to  the  buildings  and  grounds. "^^ 

The  board  then  at  the  May  meeting  decided  to  build  a  fence 
around  the  "white  elephant,"  put  a  portico  on  it,  rearrange 
"Cunningham  manuscripts. 


282  History  University  of  Illinois 

certain  rooms,  grade  the  grounds,  and  otherwise  improve  the 
property  which  had  figured  so  bravely  in  Champaign  countj'-'s 
offer,  so  far  as  the  sum  of  $7,850  made  improvement  possible. 
The  date  of  opening  the  university  was  decided.  It  was  to  open 
its  doors  to  students  on  Monday,  March  2,  1868.  The  date  was 
the  result  of  a  compromise.  Some  of  the  board  believed  it  im- 
possible to  have  a  course  of  study  worthy  of  offering  so  soon, 
others  believed  it  should  open  much  sooner. 

The  next  serious  matter  to  be  settled  was  the  course  of  study. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  a  resolution  had  been  adopted 
directing  the  appointment  of  a  committee  on  courses  of  study. 
Governor  Oglesby  subsequently  named  as  members  of  the  com- 
mittee, the  regent  of  the  university.  Mason  Brayman,  S.  S.  Hayes, 
Willard  C,  Flagg,  and  Newton  Bateman,  then  state  superin- 
tendent of  education.  Gregory,  Flagg,  and  Bateman  were  all 
schoolmen  of  ripe  experience  and  Brayman  and  Hayes  were  men 
of  long  and  close  contact  with  the  affairs  of  state  both  in  public 
and  private  life. 

It  is  probable  that  the  report  of  this  committee  was  largely 
the  work  of  Dr.  Gregory,  but  his  associates  were  all  capable  of 
contributing  to  the  document  which  was  to  fill  so  large  a  place 
in  the  work  of  the  university.  From  their  correspondence  it  is 
learned  that  the  associates  did,  in  fact,  spend  time  and  energy 
in  investigating  various  subjects,  reported  by  the  chairman  of  the 
committee. 

The  proposed  departments  and  courses  of  instraction  were 
given  as  follows: 

"I.  The  Agricultural  Department — Embracing:  1.  The 
course  in  Agriculture  proper;  2.  The  course  in  Horticulture 
and  Landscape  Gardening. 

"II.  The  Polytechnic  Department — Embracing:  1.  The 
course  in  Mechanical  Science  and  Art;  2.  The  course  in  Civil 
Engineering;  3.  The  course  in  Mining  and  Metallurgy;  4.  The 
course  in  Architecture  and  fine  Arts. 

"III.  The  Military  Department— Embracing:  1.  The 
course  in  Military  Engineering ;  2.  The  course  in  Military  Tactics. 

"IV.    The  Department  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  Science. 


University  Organizes  283 

"V.     The  Department  of  Trade  and  Commerce. 

' '  VI.  The  Department  of  General  Science  and  Literature — 
Embracing :  1.  The  course  in  Mathematics ;  2.  The  course  in 
Natural  History,  Chemistry,  etc. ;  3.  The  course  in  English  Lan- 
guage and  Literature;  4.  The  course  in  Modern  Languages  and 
Literature ;  5.  The  course  in  Ancient  Languages  and  Literature ; 
6.  The  course  in  History  and  Social  Science;  7.  The  course  in 
Philosophy,  Intellectual  and  Moral. 

"For  the  courses  in  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  the  fol- 
lowing brief  exposition  was  given : 

''I.  The  course  in  agriculture  proper  may  embrace  the 
study  of  common  tillage,  arboriculture,  fruit  growing,  cattle  and 
sheep  husbandry,  veterinary  art,  agricultural  chemistry,  and 
rural  engineering  and  architecture. 

''Its  aim  will  be  to  give  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  various 
kinds  of  soils,  their  composition  and  improvement,  by  chemical  or 
by  mechanical  treatment;  the  several  classes  of  crops,  with  the 
preparation  of  the  soil,  seeding,  cultivation  and  harvesting  of 
each;  the  rotation  of  crops,  and  preparation  and  use  of  fertiliz- 
ers; vegetable  anatomy  and  physiology,  with  the  classification, 
values,  and  laws  of  growth  and  culture  of  the  cereals,  grasses, 
and  other  useful  plants,  together  with  general  botany;  fruit- 
growing, and  the  several  modes  of  propagation,  and  the  pro- 
duction of  new  varieties;  arboriculture,  with  the  nature  and 
value  of  the  various  species  of  ornamental,  shade  and  forest  trees, 
the  propagation,  growth  and  care  of  forests,  their  importance  and 
value  in  a  prairie  countrj^,  in  their  effects  upon  climate,  vegeta- 
tion and  health ;  animal  anatomy  and  physiology,  with  a  study  of 
the  breeds  of  domestic  animals,  and  their  values  for  the  dairy, 
for  fattening,  for  draught,  and  for  wool  or  other  products,  and 
of  the  principles  of  stock  breeding;  veterinaiy  art,  with  the 
laws  of  feeding,  care  and  training  of  domestic  animals;  the 
apiary  and  poultry  yard ;  agricultural  chemistry,  applied  to  the 
analysis  of  soils,  fertilizers  and  food,  etc ;  en+omology,  especially 
including  the  useful  insects  and  those  injurious  to  animal  life ; 
meteorology  and  climatology;  rural  architecture  and  engineer- 
ing, embracing  the  planning  of  farm  buildings,  and  the  laying 
out,  draining  and  fencing  of  farms ;  political  economy,  the  laws 


284  Ilisiorii  IJmversiiu  of  Illinois 

of  production,  consumption  and  markets;  real  estate  juris- 
prudence, the  laws  regulating  the  tenures  and  transfers  of  land, 
and  the  laws  relating  to  rural  affairs ;  the  history  of  agriculture, 
and  general  views  of  the  husbandry  of  foreign  countries.  To 
these  studies  should  be  added,  either  to  prepare  for  the  fore- 
ging,  or  as  necessaiy  to  complete  education,  courses  in  mathe- 
matics, language  and  literature,  mental  and  moral  philosophy 
1  gie,  history  and  science  of  goveniment. 

' '  The  instruction  should  be  partly  by  textbooks,  and  partly 
by  lectures,  enforced  by  observation  and  practice  in  the  lab- 
oratory, and  the  various  departments  of  the  experimental  farm. 

"2.  The  course  of  instruction  in  horticulture  may  compre- 
hend most  of  the  studies  already  described  under  the  course  of 
agriculture,  omitting  stock-breeding  and  veterinary  art,  and  ad- 
ding to  the  fruit-growing,  the  culture  of  the  small  fruits  and  cul- 
inary vegetables,  and  the  culture  of  flowers ;  the  construction 
and  mangagement  of  the  hot-bed,  the  green-house,  the  grapery, 
the  seedplot  and  nursery;  landscape  gardening,  the  laying  out 
and  ornamentation  of  public  and  private  pleasure  grounds,  parks, 
cemeteries,  etc.  The  methods  of  instruction  should  be  like  those 
in  the  department  of  agriculture. 

"3.  The  courses  in  mechanics,  civil  engineering  and 
mining  belong,  properly,  to  the  polytechnic  school.  All  the  fun- 
damental sciences  involved  in  them  being  taught  at  the  Univer- 
sity, these  courses  may  also  be  developed  there.  The  committee 
defer  the  delineation  of  a  course  of  instruction  in  this  department 
till  the  question  of  the  extent  of  its  means  of  development  is 
settled."  17 

For  permission  to  enter  on  the  work  of  these  regular  courses 
the  committee  recommended  in  the  report  that  a  fair  standard 
of  admission  requirements  be  insisted  upon.  While  it  was  de- 
sired to  open  the  university  as  widely  as  possible  to  the  youth 
of  the  state,  it  could  not  do  the  work  of  the  public  high  schools. 
Grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometiy,  natural 
philosophy,  and  a  knowledge  of  Latin  sufficient  to  enable  a  stu- 
dent to  construe  any  passage  in  Cicero's  Oratiotis  or  Vergil's 
Georgics  and  Aeneid,  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  a  cor- 
^'First  annual  report  of  the  ioard  of  trustees,  47. 


University  Organizes 


285 


rect  admission  requirement.  The  reason  for  not  attempting  to 
admit  students  who  could  not  offer  such  preparatory  work,  was 
that  until  a  student  had  traveled  that  far  intellectually,  he  had 
not  usually  "formed  his  purpose  and  tested  his  strength  and 
ability  to  pursue  a  course  of  liberal  or  scientific  study.  The  his- 
tory of  preparatory  schools  is  full  of  proofs  that  many  of  those 
who  set  out  for  a  college  course  stop  short  of  the  college  doors. 
Science,  like  scripture  has  its  '  stony  ground '  hearers  who  at  first 
receive  the  word  with  joy,  but  who  when  the  hot  sun  of  hard 
study  is  up,  wither  away."  A  comparison  of  the  admission  re- 
quirements with  those  of  the  eastern  universities  shows  the  sur- 
prising fact  that  the  published  standard  of  the  industrial  uni- 
versity for  its  regular  courses  was  quite  as  high  as  theirs  at  that 
time. 


Requirements  commonly 
made  in  universities  —  Har- 
vard, Yale,  Princeton,  Mich- 
igan, Columbia,  Cornell, 
Brown,  and  Williams.^^ 

1868 

Modern  Language — None 

English — None  beyond  Eng- 
lish Grammar 

Science  —  Descriptive  Geog- 
raphy the  only  approach 
to  science 

Latin :    Virgil — Aeneid,  Eclo- 
gues, Georgics. 
Cicero — Select  Orations 
Caesar — ^^Commentaries 

Greek — Grammar,  Anabasis, 
Homer 

Mathematics — Arithmetic 
Geometry  (Part  of 
Plane) 
Algebra  (to  quadratics) 


Requirements  for  admission 
to  the  Illinois  Industrial  Uni- 
versity (At  the  first  require- 
ments were  higher  than  as 
stated  below ;  changed  in 
1868-1869  to  the  following) 
1868 

Modern  Language — None 
English — Only  English 
Grammar 

Science — Descriptive  Geog- 
raphy 

Latin :    (Essentially  the  same 
as  other  universities) 


Greek :    None 

Mathematics — Arithmetic 
Geometry — (All  Plane) 
Algebra — (to      quadrat- 
ics) 

"See  Edwin  C.  Broome,  "A  Historwal  and  Critical  Disi^iission  of  Col- 
legiate Admission  Requirements." 


286  History  Uriiversity  of  Illinois 

Naturally  it  was  far  more  difficult  to  carry  out  such  a  pro- 
gram in  Illinois  than  in  the  eastern  states  where  well  established 
academies,  high  schools,  and  other  secondary  schools  of  long 
standing  were  comparatively  plentiful.  However,  that  students 
who  could  not  present  such  qualifications  might  not  be  excluded 
from  participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  university,  two  sets  of 
qualifications  were  adopted ;  the  one  for  candidates  for  the  reg- 
ular university  courses,  the  second  for  students  who  wished  to 
pursue  some  select  or  partial  courses.^  ^  The  qualifications  for 
admission  to  the  select  courses  were :  "A  thorough  examination 
in  the  common  school  branches  of  reading,  writing,  arithmetic, 
geography  and  grammar,  and  on  evidence  of  sufficient  maturity 
and  intelligence  to  pursue  successfully  the  studies  selected  by 
them." 

Selim  H.  Peabody,  second  regent  of  the  university,  com- 
mented thus  upon  the  subject  of  the  early  admission  require- 
ments: ''To  secure  members  the  standards  of  admission  were 
fixed  at  what  were  known  to  be  low  grades  of  scholarship.  The 
examinations  were  mild,  and  the  topics  those  on  which  prepar- 
ation could  be  made  in  the  common  district  schools  of  the  state. 
The  students  so  admitted  were  employed  in  their  first  collegiate 
years  upon  very  elementary  branches  of  learning.  The  attend- 
ance rapidly  increased,  but  was,  to  a  considerable  degree,  epher- 
meral,  composed  of  persons  who  came  for  a  term,  or  for  a  year, 
rather  than  with  the  purpose  of  pursuing  an  extended,  consecu- 
tive, and  symmetrical  course  of  collegiate  work.  This  early  pol- 
icy was  wise  and  necessary  at  the  time,  but  if  it  had  been  long 
continued,  it  would  never  have  established  a  university  worthy 
of  the  name.  It  Avas  needful  that  the  youth  of  Illinois  should 
learn  the  value  of  the  institution  which  was  opened  for  their 
benefit.  It  was  necessary  that  the  current  should  be  turned 
into  these  channels.  After  the  current  had  definitely  set  it  was 
necessarj^,  and  it  was  possible,  to  elevate  by  degrees  both  the 

"The  law  of  1867  provided:  "No  student  shall  be  admitted  to  instruc- 
tion in  any  of  the  departments  of  the  university  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  fifteen  (15)  years,  and  who  shall  not  previously  undergo  a 
satisfactory  examination  in  each  of  the  branches  ordinarily  taught  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  state."  This,  the  conmiittee  on  course  of  study  in- 
terpreted not  as  fixing  the  qualifications  for  admission,  but  only  as  defining 
the  minimum  requirement. 


University  Organizes  287 

aspirations  and  the  preparation  of  those  who  should  attend. ' '  ^^ 
As  a  matter  of  fact  in  the  infancy  of  the  industrial  univer- 
sity the  great  majority  of  the  students  were  engaged  in  prepar- 
ation work.  No  collegiate  work  whatever  was  done  by  the  stu- 
dents of  the  university  in  the  spring  of  1868  but  in  the  fall 
of  that  year  there  were  some  twelve  students  sufficiently  pre- 
pared actually  to  enter  upon  work  of  a  collegiate  grade.  The 
twelve  students  qualified  for  college  work  under  the  admission 
requirements  contained  in  the  first  circular  published  in  the 
spring  of  1868.  These  requirements  were  considered  too  high 
and  were  therefore  lowered — reluctantly  by  the  regent — during 
the  year  1868-1869  so  that  a  number  of  students  doing  senior 
preparatory  work  were  advanced  to  college  rank. 

The  committee  was  ardent  in  its  recommendation  of  the 
manual  labor  system  which  was  adopted.  It  was  a  mistake  that 
Turner,  for  instance,  would  not  have  made.^i  Kequired  manual 
labor  on  the  part  of  all  students  seems  to  be  the  surest  means  of 
forever  condemning  an  educational  institution  to  the  status  of 
a  mere  trade  school. 22  Henry  M.  Dunlap,  son  of  M.  L.  Dunlap 
of  the  first  board  of  trustees,  who  entered  the  university  in  1868, 
says  he  has  a  lively  recollection  of  daily  ti*undling  bricks  from 
one  part  of  the  campus  to  the  other ;  and,  after  a  lapse  of  years 
he  can  testify,  that  while  neither  he  nor  the  bricks  were  seriously 
harmed,  he,  at  least,  was  not  helped. 

Though  the  question  did  not  arise  at  this  particular  time 
it  is  well  to  note  here  that  a  policy  was  entered  upon  by  the 
Illinois  university  at  the  beginning,  different  from  the  practice 
of  the  colleges  and  universities  of  the  time,  of  granting  certifi- 
cates of  scholarship  merely,  instead  of  diplomas  and  degrees, 
to  those  completing  the  regular  four  year  courses.  The  first 
faculty  and  the  board  of  trustees  had  no  choice  in  the  matter 
for  the  law  of  1867,  establishing  the  university,  had  provided 
that  no  degrees  should  be  granted.    The  agriculturists,  who  had 

'"'Illinois  School  'Report;  1881-1882,  p.  3. 

-'See  Turner's  own  words  as  quoted  by  Batcman  below,  p.  299. 

^^This  system  was  adopted  because  it  was  considered  a  success  at  the 
Michigan  agricultural  college  though — as  the  committee  said — it  had  been 
a  complete  failure  in  many  places.  Mr.  Dunlap  opposed  it  then,  and  one 
year  later,  on  his  motion,  it  was  made  a  voluntary  system. 


288  History  University  of  Illiiwis 

written  all  of  the  law  of  1867  except  the  twelfth  section,  con- 
sidered this  one  of  the  effete  customs  of  the  old  system  of  educa- 
tional institutions.  Some  ten  years  later,  however,  on  petition 
of  the  alumni  the  law  was  altered  making  it  permissible  to  confer 
degrees  and  then,  following  a  conference  of  land  grant  colleges 
and  state  universities,  the  Illinois  university  took  up  the  old 
custom  of  granting  degrees. 

The  regent  spent  busy  months  previous  to  the  opening  of  the 
university,  traveling  about  the  state  setting  forth  the  aims  and 
prospects  of  the  new  institution,  directing  examinations  for  the 
free  scholarships,  and  journeying  into  other  states  to  locate  the 
lands  belonging  to  the  university.  The  meeting  of  the  board  of 
trustees  held  November  26,  27,  and  28,  was  the  last  before  the 
one  held  at  the  time  of  the  inauguration  and  much  business  was 
transacted ;  among  other  things  the  selection  of  the  first  faculty. 
Two  professors  were  elected,  William  M.  Baker  and  G.  W. 
Atherton,  at  salaries  of  two  thousand  a  year,  their  chairs  ''here- 
after to  be  named, ' '  and  Jonathan  Periam  of  Chicago  was  elected 
head  farmer  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 

Among  the  preparations  for  the  opening  of  the  university 
at  the  November  meeting  one  thousand  dollars  was  set  aside  to 
purchase  the  nucleus  of  a  library,  and  a  sum  not  to  exceed  six 
thousand  was  allowed  for  the  Bromby  cabinet.^^  This  cabinet 
was  in  the  three  departments  of  mineralogy,  geology,  and  conch- 
ology  and  was  the  work  of  Professor  Bromby  of  Georgia  who 
had  been  twenty-five  years  collecting  it.  But  when  Dr.  Gregorj'- 
inspected  the  cabinet  in  New  York  about  January  first,  he  found 
that  it  was  in  poor  condition ;  many  of  the  specimens  had  been 
ruined  by  careless  packing,  and  the  purchase  was  not  made.  It 
was  expected  there  would  be  a  cabinet,  for  an  appropriation  of 
five  hundred  dollars  had  been  made  to  Major  J.  W.  Powell  of 
Normal  for  his  "Rocky  Mountain"  expedition,  one  of  the  pur- 
poses of  which  was  to  acquire  a  natural  histoiy  collection  for  the 
university.  By-laws  for  the  government  of  the  board  were 
adopted  which  gave  the  rates  of  tuition,  officers  and  appointees 
of  the  board,  duties  of  the  various  officers,  and  other  important 
matters.^^ 


^First  annual  report  of  hoard  of  tnistees,  p.  122. 

**For  the  by-laws.  First  amival  report  of  hoard  of  trustees,  p.  76. 


University  Organizes  289 

At  the  same  session  General  Mason  Brayman,  as  the  chair- 
man of  the  committe  on  military  department,  made  an  extended 
report.  General  Brayman  was  by  education  and  training  well 
equipped  to  lead  in  the  foundation  work  for  the  establishment 
of  a  military  department.  Then,  too,  he  was  so  interested  in  this 
particular  duty  that  he  went  to  Washington  where  he  had  an 
interview  with  the  acting  secretary  of  war  who  referred  him 
to  Major  J.  H.  Whittlesey  of  the  United  States  army,  an  officer 
detailed  to  report  a  method  of  introducing  a  suitable  system  of 
military  instruction  into  such  colleges  of  the  United  States  as 
might  desire  it.  General  Brayman  then  had  much  correspon- 
dence with  Major  Whittlesey,  with  Brigadier  General  Haynie, 
Adjutant  General  of  Illinois,  and  others  so  that  he  was  fully 
informed  as  to  what  was  desired  and  what  was  possible  to  accom- 
plish at  that  time.  All  of  these  things  were  quite  fully  discussed 
in  the  report  made  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee  who  then 
offered  the  follo^ving  resolutions  which  were  adopted  by  the 
trustees  and  which  definitely  established  the  military  department 
in  the  university : 

"1.  Resolved,  That  in  compliance  with  the  laws  on  that  sub- 
ject, the  military  department  of  this  university  shall  be  estab- 
lished as  part  of  the  regular  and  necessary  means  of  education. 

"2.  Resolved,  That  there  shall  be  appointed,  as  soon  as  the 
same  shall  be  needful  and  proper,  a  Professor  of  Military  Tactics 
and  Engineering,  and  such  assistants  as  shall  be  necessary  in 
his  department. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  all  students  shall  be  taught  in  the 
branches  appropriate  to  this  department,  to  such  extent,  and 
with  such  modifications  and  exceptions,  as  shall  be  provided  in 
the  code  in  force  for  the  regulation  of  studies, 

"4.  Resolved,  That  in  order  to  secure  neatness  and 
economy,  and  to  distinguish  the  students  of  this  University,  a 
uniform  shall  be  prescribed  and  worn,  of  material  known  as 
cadet  gray,  appropriately  made,  and  furnished  with  a  University 
button,  having  apt  devices,  and  a  University  cap,  in  such  fonn  as 
shall  be  prescribed. 

"5.  Resolved,  That  the  Military  Professor,  or  the  officer 
or  person  having,  for  the  time  being,  charge  of  the  military 


290  IJisfurj/  Univcrsitij  of  Illinois 

department,  shall  have  the  authority  and  perform  the  duties  of 
militaiy  commandant,  and  shall,  under  authority  of  the  Regent 
and  Faculty,  enforce  such  rules  and  orders  as  are  usual  at  West 
Point  and  other  military  schools,  comprising  the  regulation  of 
hours,  personal  deportment  and  intercourse,  and  in  such  manner 
as  shall  insure  order,  obedience  and  discipline,  and  promote  the 
general  objects  contemplated;  and  that  suitable  music  consist- 
ing at  least  of  the  drum  and  fife,  be  provided.  These  duties  to 
be  so  arranged  in  rules  and  regulations  as  to  comprehend  the 
entire  police  and  administration  of  the  University,  and  subject 
to  such  control  and  supervision  as  will  promote  harmony  and 
efficiency. 

"6.  Resolved,  That  the  Regent,  the  Chairman  of  the  Mili- 
tary Committee,  and  the  Treasurer,  be  instructed  to  procure  from 
the  proper  authorities  of  this  State  such  arms  and  accoutrements 
as  shall  be  necessary  for  use  of  students  in  drill,  and  such  books 
of  tactics  as  may  be  required  to  begin  instruction  in  military 
exercises. 

"7.  Resolved,  That  these  regulations  be  put  in  force  as  far 
as  feasible  on  the  opening  of  the  institution  in  March  next ;  but 
that  the  University  uniform  may  not  be  required  to  be  worn 
by  students  until  the  fall  term,  when  it  shall  be  worn  by  all. 

**8.  Resolved,  That  this  Board  cordially  approve,  and  re- 
spectfully recommend  to  the  favorable  action  of  Congress,  at 
its  coming  session,  the  bill  and  general  plan  reported  to  the  War 
Department  by  Major  J.  H.  Whittlesey,  U.  S.  A.,  for  providing 
a  system  of  National  Military  Education  in  colleges,  and  earn- 
estly request  the  Senators  and  Representatives  from  this  State, 
to  support  the  same. 

"9.  Resolved,  That  this  University  will  hold  itself  in  readi- 
ness to  adopt  fully  the  proposed  national  plan,  and  make  the 
same  a  part  of  the  permanent  system  of  instruction  in  this  insti- 
tution, as  the  best  means  of  securing  to  the  people  the  benefit 
of  military  education,  and  for  establishing  upon  an  enduring 
foundation  the  cherished  institutions  of  our  State  and  common 
country. ' '  25 

Upon  the  basis  of  these  resolutions  the  training  of  students 
^First  annual  report  of  the  board  of  trustees,  85. 


University  Organizes  291 

in  military  science  and  tactics  began  as  soon  as  the  university 
opened  in  1868.  The  plans  were  formulated  in  a  spirit  of  sincer- 
ity and  earnestness  and  ever  since  instruction  has  been  given 
continuously  and  the  department  built  up  in  exactly  the  same 
spirit  in  which  it  was  established. 

About  this  time,  November,  1867,  the  opposition  of  M.  L. 
Dunlap,  a  member  of  the  board,  to  the  policies  of  the  regent  and 
of  the  board  of  trustees  began  to  develop.  Of  this  opposition, 
which  was  serious  in  its  consequences,  J.  M.  Gregory  wrote  in 
his  private  journal.  "In  the  course  of  the  fall  an  opposition 
began  to  show  itself.  ]\I.  L.  Dunlap  one  of  the  trustees  and  a 
correspondent  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  began  to  assail  the  plans 
of  the  University  in  his  letters  to  the  Tribune  and  to  make  per- 
sonal assaults  against  my  character  and  doings.  These  became 
shortly  very  bitter  and  malignant.  They  were  thought  to  be 
caused  by  his  disappointment  in  not  receiving  an  official  place 
in  the  university  as  superintendent  or  professor  and  his  mortified 
vanity  at  not  being  consulted  more  and  asked  for  his  council. ' '  ^^ 

In  attributing  to  Dunlap  disappointment  at  not  receiving  an 
official  position  as  "professor  or  superintendent"  Gregory  was 
merely  noting,  apparently,  some  talk  of  the  neighborhood.  In 
view  of  the  fact  that  Dunlap  rejected  years  before  a  good  busi- 
ness position  in  Chicago  in  order  to  take  a  family  of  growing 
boys  to  the  farm,  and  again  in  1860  had  refused  an  offer  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  to  go  to  Washington  as  commissioner  of  agri- 
culture it  does  not  seem  probable  that  he  would  have  cared  for 
or  even  accepted  a  position  of  the  kind  suggested  in  Gregory's 
journal.27 

To  get  Dunlap 's  viewpoint  one  must  look,  briefly  at  least, 
to  a  few  leading  facts  of  his  life  and  habits  of  thought.  At  that 
time  he  had  already  become  a  successful  horticulturist ;  one  who 
had  used  his  ovm.  brain  in  the  study  of  the  evolution  of  problems 
of  soil  and  climate  and  often  had  regretted  that  his  OAni  studies 
had  not  been  of  a  sort  to  help  him  more  in  solving  his  practical 
problems.  Of  this  he  says  in  an  article  over  the  pseudonym 
"Rural"  in  the  Chicago  Tribune  of  December  26,  1867 :  "Born 
and  reared  on  a  farm,  my  schoolboy  days  given  to  the  study  of 
the  common  English  branches,  chemistry,  mathematics,  natural 

^'Abstract  from  journal  of  J.  M.  Gregory. 
'■These  facts  based  upou  authority  of  his  sou. 


292  Historjj  Univcrsiiy  of  Illinois 

philosophy,  vegetable  philosophy,  history,  medicine,  and  what 
was  considered  a  commercial  course ;  add  to  this  thirty  years 
actively  engaged  in  the  culture  of  the  rich  soil  of  the  prairie, 
in  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  forest  tree  planting.  This 
training  and  this  experience  give  me  some  assurance,  or  at  least 
some  claim,  to  speak  my  mind  more  freely  on  the  course  of  study 
that  ought  to  bo  pursued  in  the  industrial  university.  I  do  so 
the  more  freely  that  I  have  often  felt  the  want  of  a  more  thorough 
scientific  course  of  study ;  that  my  researches  in  the  department 
of  chemistiy  had  not  been  more  given  in  the  direction  of  soils, 
rather  than  to  medicine. ' ' 

He  had  found  that  the  new  science  as  advocated  by  Turner 
and  the  agriculturists  was  sadly  needed  in  Illinois  to  enable  the 
farmers  to  meet  new  conditions,  * '  in  a  soil  so  peculiar  in  its  struc- 
ture and  mechanical  condition  as  that  of  the  prairie  country. 
Accustomed  to  a  maritime  climate,  where  homes  were  hewed  out 
of  the  primeval  forest,  and  the  snow  covering  was  ample  to  shield 
the  more  tender  plants  from  the  severity  of  winter,  it  need  not 
be  wondered  at  that  mistakes  occurred  in  many  attempts  to  adopt 
the  same  general  system  of  culture  that  had  been  taught  in  boy- 
hood. A  continental  climate,  the  surface  laid  bare  to  the  sudden 
changes  that  come  without  warning;  now  a  wave  of  cold  from 
the  Polar  regions,  pushing  its  icy  breath  over  the  most  treeless 
plains,  and  destroying  vegetation  in  its  rapid  march  far  south 
of  the  Ohio.  This  in  turn  followed  by  the  warm  trade  winds  that 
have  been  deflected  north  by  the  Andes,  and  hurled  through  the 
gulf,  a  part  following  the  gulf  stream  and  a  part  driven  up  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi ;  where  it  is  spread  fanshaped,  through- 
out the  whole  region  of  the  NorthAvest,  and  makes  its  exit  to  the 
east.  "28 

It  was  these  new  and  puzzling  problems  which  Mr.  Dunlap 
had  hoped  the  new  science  would  set  itself  earnestly  to  solve. 
But  he  felt  that  it  could  be  done  only  by  men  who  knew  the 
region,  who  had  themselves  felt  the  bitterness  of  bewilderment 
and  defeat,  the  joy  of  occasional  victory.  The  course  of  study 
as  proposed  by  the  committee  met  his  approbation  but  he  had 
no  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  men  who  were  to  teach  the  different 


^Chicago  Tribune,  December  26,  1867. 


University  Organizes  293 

subjects.  Of  the  first  faculty  he  says  that  the  regent's  education 
"is  but  classical  and  theological"  ^9  and  of  the  two  professors 
one  would  ultimately  have  the  choice  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  French 
and  the  other  was  prepared  to  teach  the  social  sciences.  It  was, 
in  his  opinion  a  poor  outlook  for  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts. 

Other  items  to  which  Mr.  Dunlap  objected  were:  the  pro- 
posed purchase  of  the  cabinet  of  Professor  Broniby  of  Georgia. 
He  thought  that  a  collection  of  the  conchology  of  the  Illinois 
rivers,  of  the  fossils,  plants  and  shells  of  Illinois  coal  mines, 
of  the  insects  that  lowered  the  profits  upon  Illinois  crops  and 
samples  of  the  clay,  marbles,  and  minerals  in  the  state  would  be 
of  much  more  benefit  to  the  youth  who  would  attend  the  insti- 
tution ;  the  thousand  dollars  voted  for  the  nucleus  of  a  library 
he  pronounced  too  small.  He  thought  that  it  would  be  spent  to 
"meet  the  wants  of  the  professors  in  moral  and  inductive  lit- 
erature. It  is  not  likely  that  Faraday,  Liebig,  Johnston,  or 
Davy  will  be  consulted  in  so  small  a  collection."  He  objected 
also  to  the  fact  that  the  university  was  to  be  open  for  instruction 
for  nine  months  of  the  year.  ' '  The  law  as  has  been  before  stated, 
provides  for  six  months  of  school  during  the  autumn  and  summer 
months,  but  the  trustees  more  wise  than  the  Legislature,  or 
without  any  regard  to  the  law,  provide  for  three  terms,  begin- 
ning September  18,  and  closing  June  6,  or  occupying  a  little  over 
nine  months.  This  leaves  no  time  for  the  students  to  return, 
as  the  law  directs  "to  their  several  industries  during  the  spring 
and  summer  months."  Then,  too,  Dunlap  had  no  belief  in  the 
value  of  manual  labor  by  the  students.  He  said  in  regard  to 
stocking  and  carrying  on  the  university  farm : 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  folly  of  attempting  to  carry  on 
the  farm  and  horticultural  department  by  the  labor  of  students 
will  be  saved  us. "  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  system  of  required 
student  labor  was  proved,  by  experiment,  a  failure.  As  regards 
the  number  of  months  of  school  for  each  year  the  law,  in  fact, 
left  the  matter  somewhat  to  the  discretion  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

The  controversy  between  Mr.  Dunlap  and  Dr.  Gregory  arose 

^"Tho  regent's  education  was  classical  but  he  had  received  no  training  in 
a  theological  institution. 


294  History  University  of  Illinois 

very  naturally  out  of  the  construction  each  put  upon  the  law  of 
the  university.  According  to  the  language  of  the  grant  "the 
leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scientific  and 
classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such 
branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts. ' '  Of  the  ' '  teaching  of  such  branches  of  learning  as 
are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts, ' '  Dunlap  said : 
"These  it  made  its  duty — a  mandatory  order  that  should  be 
obeyed.  But  this  was  not  all ;  there  were  other  classes  that  might 
in  the  course  of  time  come  under  the  sunshine  of  its  usefulness, 
and  a  permission  was  implied  that  after  tJie  first  mandatory 
order  was  obeyed,  and  there  were  funds  for  the  purpose,  other 
'classical  and  scientific  studies'  might  be  pursued  hut  untU  that 
period  arrived,  the  school  should  be  for  the  sole  benefit  of  those 
who  belonged  to  those  industries.  Such  is  the  law  and  such  is  the 
expectation  of  the  people. ' ' 

In  Gregory's  opinion  the  phrase  "without  excluding  other 
scientific  and  classical  studies, ' '  implied  that  such  studies  should 
rank  equally  with  the  branches  of  learning  related  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts  and  be  provided  for  at  the  same  time. 
Compared  with  colleges  of  law  and  medicine  "its  central  edu- 
cational courses,  while  equally  broad  and  liberal,  are  to  be  se- 
lected to  fit  men  for  the  study  and  mastery  of  the  great  branches 
of  industry,  rather  to  serve  as  introductions  to  the  studies  of 
law,  medicine,  or  theology.  "3*^ 

It  was  not  long  before  this  difference  of  opinion  began  to 
cause  dissension.  A  prominent  graduate  who  came  as  a  student 
with  the  class  that  entered  in  the  autumn  of  1868  says:  "M.  L. 
Dunlap  gave  the  new  president  his  earnest  support  until  the 
proposed  curriculum  of  studies  revealed  Latin  and  Greek  as 
the  corner  stones  of  the  contemplated  new  structure  and  also 
when  it  developed  that  every  student  was  *  advised '  by  the  presi- 
dent to  take  Latin  as  one  of  his  basic  studies.  "^^ 

Dunlap  felt  sure  of  his  position,  for  he  believed  that  it 
squared  fully  with  that  of  the  founders  of  the  institution.  As 
far  back  as  1855,  when  the  agriculturists  introduced  a  bill  into 

*''Chicago  Tribune,  November  2,  1868. 
"Private  letter  of  March  12,  1917. 


University  Organizes  295 

the  legislature  which  was  reported  upon  favorably  by  the  senate, 
but  too  late  for  action,  for  "an  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees 
of  the  Illinois  university,"  the  objects  of  the  university  were 
stated  as,  first :  to  provide  a  normal  school  department ;  second, 
an  agricultural  school  department;  third,  a  mechanical  depart- 
ment. After  these  were  provided  for  and  not  until  then  were 
other  departments  to  be  added  as  the  bill  itself  states: — "To 
these  departments  others  may  be  added  from  time  to  time,  as 
the  wants  of  the  people  may  require,  and  the  funds  and  means 
of  the  University  will  justify,  so  that  finally  the  university  may 
become  a  place  of  resort  for  acquiring  an  accomplished  and  fin- 
ished education  in  all  useful,  practical,  literary  and  scientific 
knowledge.  "32 

This  was  the  position  of  the  founders — to  be  sure  the  normal 
department  had  been  cared  for  elsewhere  so  that  was  eliminated 
— that  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  studies  should  be  pro- 
vided for  first,  from  this  the  founders  never  had  swerved,  nor 
should  Mr.  Dunlap. 

Right  here  a  question  may  be  raised.  The  attitude  of  the 
agriculturists  was  unmistakable  but  was  it  entirely  in  accord  with 
the  federal  law  ?  The  law  states  unequivocally  that  classical  sub- 
jects were  not  to  be  excluded  just  as  Dr.  Gregory  had  contended. 
Suppose  such  subjects  as  pertained  to  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts  only  had  been  provided  for  in  the  curriculum  of  the 
new  university  and  the  classics  omitted  until  it  was  convenient 
to  provide  for  them,  would  not  critics  have  arisen  in  their  right- 
eousness to  point  to  the  law  ?  To  be  sure  the  law  also  states  that 
the  branches  of  learning  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts  should  be  the  leading  subjects  and  Dr.  Gregory,  perhaps, 
erred  when  he  accorded  to  agriculture,  mechanics  and  classics 
an  equal  place  in  his  theory  and  possibly  an  emphasis  on  the 
classics  in  his  practice. 

From  documents  now  at  hand  it  appears  that  it  was  at  a 
meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  held  in  Urbana  on  March  10,  11, 
and  12,  1868,  that  a  majority  of  the  board  brought  M.  L.  Dun- 
lap  to  task  for  statements  that  he  had  been  making  in  the  press 
and  elsewhere  which  they  considered  injurious  to  the  welfare 
«Bm  of  1855,  appendix,  p.  546. 


29G  History  University  of  Illinois 

of  the  institution.  To  them  it  seemed  unfortunate  to  have  a  deep 
distrust  in  the  institution  created  before  it  ever  was  opened. 
There  has  been  confusion  and  misunderstanding  as  to  what  hap- 
pened in  this  connection,  chiefly  for  the  reason  that  the  board 
determined  later  in  the  session  not  to  publish  in  the  minutes  of 
the  sessions  the  action  taken  upon  this  subject.  Without  going 
into  details  or  attempting  at  this  late  date  to  say  who  was  right 
or  who  was  wrong  a  few  simple  facts,  supported  by  documentary 
evidence,  may  be  stated  in  order  to  have  a  clear  record  of  events. 
The  board  passed  at  one  of  its  sessions  a  preamble  and  reso- 
lution in  which  were  rehearsed  the  ways  that  Mr.  Dunlap,  in 
the  board 's  estimation,  was  injuring  the  industrial  university  and 
proposed  to  proceed  by  committee  or  otherwise  to  inquire  into 
the  matter.^3  A  special  committee  of  five  was  appointed  which 
made  an  investigation  and  then  an  extended  report  closing  with 
a  series  of  five  resolutions. 

During  the  sessions  and  following  an  interview  of  the  spe- 
cial committee  with  Mr.  Dunlap,  J.  C.  Burroughs  of  Chicago,  a 
member  of  the  board  but  not  a  member  of  the  special  committee, 
counseled  with  Mr.  Dunlap ;  Burroughs  pointed  out  that  Regent 
Gregory  had  undertaken  a  difficult  work,  one  in  which  he  had  to 
make  precedents  and  blaze  trails  and  that  in  an  unfamiliar 
region.  He  pointed  out  also  the  unmistakable  sincerity,  clarity 
of  judgment  and  common  sense  of  Regent  Gregory.  Dunlap  be- 
gan to  think  perhaps  he  could  safely  be  more  lenient — a  man 
should  be  given  time  to  prove  himself — perhaps  he,  Mr.  Dunlap, 
knowing  the  state  as  few^  men  could  know  it,  acutely  conscious 
of  its  educational  needs  was,  by  his  very  ardor,  made  over-crit- 
ical. He  saw  hope  for  the  future.  He  decided  that  perhaps 
he  had  judged  the  new  man  too  harshly,  he  would  give  him  a 
chance  to  prove  himself. 

Then  occurred  a  reconciliation.  Dunlap  crossed  the  room 
and  shook  hands  with  Regent  Gregory,  Just  what  was  said  or 
promised  by  Dunlap  is  not  certain.  The  members  of  the  commit- 
tee said  later  in  letters  that  he  promised  not  to  pursue  such  a 
course  in  the  future,  and  that  he  voted  for  the  first  resolution 

"Original  copy  of  preamble  and  resolution,  manuscript  at  University 
of  Illinois.     See  appendix  for  resolutions,  p.  579. 


University  Organizes  297 

submitted  by  the  special  committee  in  its  report ;  the  resolution 
reading  as  follows :  ' '  Eesolved,  that  this  Board  of  Trustees  have 
undiminished  confidence  in  the  integrity,  ability  and  fitness  of 
the  Regent,  and  pledge  him  a  firm  support  in  the  performance 
of  his  duties. — " 

For  the  sake  of  harmony  the  board  then  consented  to  have 
the  special  committee  withdraw  its  report,  and  no  record  was 
made  in  the  official  minutes  of  the  meeting,  though  the  newspa- 
pers of  the  time  had  more  or  less  accurate  accounts  of  this  epi- 
sode. 

These  events  ended  the  most  serious  part  of  the  friction 
and  from  this  time  on  the  feeling  between  Dunlap  and  Gregory 
was  more  fortunate.  In  later  months  the  members  of  the  spe- 
cial committee  and  certain  other  members  of  the  board  thought 
that  Dunlap  had  broken  his  promise.  In  this  it  is  quite  con- 
ceivable that  they  had  read  into  whatever  Dunlap  had  promised 
an  erroneous  interpretation.  They  seemed  unable  to  get  his 
point  of  view.  He  held  firmly  to  the  idea,  and  he  desired  the 
public  to  get  the  conception,  that  no  man  and  no  body  of  men, 
regent  or  board  of  trustees,  were  identical  with  the  university. 
As  a  faithful  friend  of  the  institution  he  had  deemed  it  his  duty 
in  the  past  and  he  still  considered  it  an  obligation  in  the  future 
to  be  ever  alert  to  its  interests  as  he  conceived  them,  and  when- 
ever the  courses  of  study  or  the  actions  of  individuals  showed  a 
tendency  in  his  estimation  to  disregard  the  classes  for  whom  they 
Were  designed,  his  pen  promptly  hastened  to  the  well.^^* 

Mention  may  here  be  made  of  the  first  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  new  university  to  reach  out  to  the  farms  of  the  state.    On 

'■'The  Tribune,  editorially,  had  invariably  supported  its  correspondent 
"Rural"  through  the  first  two  or  three  years  of  his  struggle  to  shape  the 
university  along  the  lines  desired  by  the  agriculturists.  On  December  18, 
1867,  in  a  short  editorial  it  said  after  referring  to  "Eural's"  articles: 
* '  Men  of  Illinois,  your  university,  for  which  you  have  toiled  so  long,  is  thus 
far  a  farce."  On  March  4,  1870,  again  referring  to  his  articles  and  to  a 
set  of  resolutions  passed  by  the  students  condemning  them  it  uttered  a  state- 
ment decidedly  different :  ' '  But  we  have  always  expressed  the  opinion, 
editorially,  that  his  (Dunlap)  conception  of  the  mode  in  which  the  univer- 
sity should  be  conducted  is  unsound. He  believes,  and  we  do  not, 

that  the  university  ought  to  be,  and  can  be,  a  technical  school. ' '  Judging 
from  these  editorials,  either  a  new  editor  had  taken  possession,  or  the  former 
editor  had  suffered  a  mental  lapse. 


298  History  University  of  Illinois 

December  1,  1867,  a  list  of  nineteen  questions  was  sent  out  widely 
to  the  farmers.  The  inquiries  concerned  the  character  of  sur- 
face soil  and  subsoil,  location  of  the  farm,  crops  taken  off,  live- 
stock raised,  rotations  followed,  notable  successes,  pronounced 
failures,  cost  per  acre  of  good  farming,  and  other  facts.  Thirty- 
four  answers  were  received,  many  of  them  revealing  an  alert 
and  affectionate  acquaintance  with  the  soils  and  their  products. 
The  answers  were  printed  with  the  first  annual  report  of  the 
board  of  trustees  and  five  thousand  copies  sent  out  at  the  expense 
of  the  state. 

The  university  opened  Monday,  March  2,  1868,  with  fifty 
students  which  during  the  week  increased  to  sixty-eight.  The 
inauguration  was  held  March  11  and  the  second  annual  meeting 
of  the  board  of  trustees  was  in  session  March  10,  11,  and  12.  At 
this  meeting  of  the  board  Major  John  W.  Powell  appeared  and 
gave  an  account  of  his  Rocky  Mountain  expedition.  He  assured 
the  board  that  the  new  university  would  not  long  be  without  a 
cabinet  as  his  collections  were  being  classified  and  soon  would  be 
ready  for  presentation  to  the  board.  Remnants  of  this  collection 
are  still  in  the  present  university  cabinet  although  the  university 
never  received  so  large  a  collection  as  was  expected  from  this 
source. 

The  report  of  the  finance  committee  showed  the  university 
to  be  safe  financially."'^  An  estimate  of  receipts  for  the  year 
1868  and  1869  yielded  $33,373.10,  while  an  estimate  of  expenses 
including  $1000  for  unforeseen  incidentals  amounted  to  $28,295 
leaving  a  comfortable  balance  of  a  little  over  $5,000.  They 
based  this  upon  the  expenditure  for  the  year  of  organization 
which  had  been  $35,076.90  while  the  receipts  were  as  follows : — 

' '  Sale  of  Champaign  county  bonds,  as  per  order  of  the  board 
$40,000 ;  interest  on  Illinois  bonds  $3,750 ;  rents  of  farm  $1,500, 
making  a  total  of  $45,250." 

The  inauguration  of  the  new  university  held  March  11,  1868, 
attracted  considerable  attention  throughout  the  state.  It  was 
held  in  the  university  hall  with  the  national  flag,  the  picture  of 
Washington  as  the  great  farmer  of  the  revolutionary  period,  the 
American  eagle  and  the  university  motto  ''Learning  and  Labor" 

^'^First  annval  report  of  the  hoard  of  trustees,  127-130. 


University  Organizes  299 

forming  the  decorations.  Letters  were  received  from  Governor 
Oglesby,  Richard  Yates,  C.  B.  Lawrence,  B.  N.  Stevens,  John  A. 
Logan,  S.  M.  Cullom,  S.  S.  Marshall,  and  Green  B,  Raum,  who 
were  unable  to  be  present.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  Dr. 
Newton  Bateman,  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and 
the  regent. 

Dr.  Bateman  in  his  address  ably  reviewed  the  steps  in  the 
struggle  that  had  culminated  in  the  establishment  of  the  land 
grant  universities.  He  had  known  Jonathan  B.  Turner  for  over 
thirty  years,  was  his  near  neighbor  for  twenty  of  them  and  a 
student  under  him  for  four  years.  Mr.  Turner  it  w^as  who  gave 
to  the  ambition  and  the  determination  of  the  inarticulate  toiling 
masses  a  voice.  He  was  definite,  eloquent,  determined,  and  in- 
spiring. He  never,  as  is  the  mistake  of  so  many  leaders,  con- 
fused himself  with  his  cause ;  always  he  saw  that  his  cause  was 
greater  than  himself  and  when  it  demanded  he  stepped 
aside.  Dr.  Bateman  quoted  a  passage  from  Turner  that  takes 
up  one  of  the  reasons  for  failure  in  previous  attempts  to  estab- 
lish industrial  colleges  and  strikes  at  its  root  so  directly  that  it 
must  be  quoted  here : 

''  'One  capital  and  fatal  error  has  been  the  idea  that  w'e 
should  send  a  boy  to  school  to  learn  to  WORK,  and  not  simply 
to  learn  to  THINK ;  thus  absurdly  attempting  to  teach,  by  public 
endowment  and  munificence,  the  little  arts  of  PERSONAL 
MANIPULATION,  instead  of  the  magnificent  SCIENCE  of 
UNIVERSAL  SUCCESS.  Nothing  could  be  more  fatal.  When 
I  have  taught  a  boy  merely  to  hold  a  plow,  I  have  only  taught 
him  to  be  a  two-legged  jackass  twin  brother  of  the  team  in  front 
of  him.  But  when  I  have  taught  him  truly  and  scientifically  all 
the  mighty  mysteries  of  seas,  stars,  oceans,  lands  and  ages  that 
are  concerned  in  that  act  of  plowing,  I  have  made  a  man  of  him 
— had  we  not  better  say,  an  angel?  Art,  in  the  sense  of  mere 
labor,  mere  servile  imitation  alone,  is  only  animal ;  the  common 
property  of  asses,  dogs  and  monkeys.  But  true  labor,  inspired 
by  universal  science  and  intelligence,  is  not  only  characteristic- 
ally human,  but  also  Divine.  What  could  be  more  absaird  than 
to  take  a  hundred  boys,  in  their  teens,  away  from  their  parents, 
the  year  round,  and  set  them  to  dabbling  with  a  hundred  teams, 


300  History  University  of  Illinois 

for  a  few  hours  per  diem,  half  of  which  break  their  traces  and 
run  away  the  first  hour,  under  the  absurd  pretext  of  teaching 
these  boys  how  to  plow?  When  Almighty  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  and  ordered  man  to  'eat  his  bread  by  the 
SAveat  of  his  brow,'  he  created  and  most  liberally  endowed  the 
best  possible  University  for  learning  all  such  mere  manual  arts ; 
and  if  we  expect  to  supersede  Omnipotence  by  grants  of  land 
for  endowments  in  this  line,  it  will  prove  worse  than  a  Bull  Run 
defeat;  for  no  institution  for  teaching  the  arts  and  the  habits 
of  bare  manipulation  and  industrial  skill,  can  ever  be  endowed 
at  all  comparable  with  those  which  the  great  Father  of  All  has 
most  munificently  spread  abroad  over  every  household,  every 
shop,  and  every  field,  throughout  the  civilized  globe.  The 
PRINCIPLES  OF  SCIENCE,  therefore,  and  not  the  bare 
manipulations  of  art  should  form  the  SOLE  END  of  Industrial 
Universities.'  " 

"So  wrote  Prof.  Turner,"  said  Mr.  Bateman,  "four  years 
ago,  demolishing  a  great  fallacy  and  enunciating  a  great  truth, 
in  a  manner,  not  to  be  resisted  or  forgotten,  whatever  may  be  said 
of  his  zoological  illustrations. ' ' 

There  is  no  record  while  these  remarks  were  in  progress  of 
the  emotions  of  those  who  had  insisted  upon  manual  labor  on  the 
part  of  the  students.  Whether  or  not  they  cringed  under  the 
zoological  comparison  will  never  be  knoAvn. 

Mr.  Bateman 's  interpretation  of  the  purpose  of  the  university 
as  defined  in  the  law  is  interesting.  It  is  the  interpretation  of 
Dunlap,  and,  undoubtedly  that  of  the  agriculturists  who  worked 
for  the  establishment  of  the  institution.  He  said:  "The  pur- 
poses for  which  this  University  was  established,  the  work  which 
it  must  do  and  may  do,  are  here  stated  and  defined,  by  the  su- 
preme and  authoritative  laws  of  Congress  and  of  Illinois,  in  a 
manner  so  plain  that  only  the  most  hopeless  ignorance  or  willful 
perversity  can  misconstrue  or  misunderstand  them. 

' '  It  aWII  be  seen  that  the  law  in  respect  to  the  instruction  to 
be  given  in  the  University  is  two-fold,  MANDATORY  AND 
PERMISSIVE — certain  things  must  be  taught,  certain  other 
things  are  NOT  EXCLUDED.  Respecting  the  latter  the 
Trustees  seem  to  have  discretion ;  they  may  provide  for  them  or 


University  Organizes  301 

not,  as  they  see  fit ;  in  respect  to  the  former,  they  have  no  choice 
or  discretion  whatever,  they  must  provide  for  them,  or  \dolate 
their  oaths  and  the  laws. 

* '  The  departments  of  instruction  for  which  the  trustees  are 
positively  and  peremptorily  required  to  provide,  and  that '  in  the 
most  thorough  manner, '  are  two : 

"1.  '  Such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts, '  and 

"2.     'Militaiy  tactics.' 

"Instruction  in  these  is  a  sine  qua  non,  a  condition  pre- 
cedent, default  in  which  would  work  the  forfeiture  of  the  endow- 
ment. 

"Those  branches  of  learning  which  are  'not  excluded'  and 
for  which  the  Trustees  IVIAY  therefore,  provide,  at  their  discre- 
tion, are  embraced  in  the  comprehensive  phrase,  '  other  scientific 
and  classical  studies.' 

"The  boundaries  of  the  present  inquiry  are  thus  sharply 
defined,  both  inclusively  and  exclusively.  If  the  Trustees  have 
arranged  a  course  of  study  embracing  '  such  branches  of  learning 
as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,'  and  also 
'  military  tactics, '  they  have  strictly  complied  with  the  law ;  and 
if  in  addition  to  these  they  have  also  provided  for  SOME  '  other 
scientific  and  classical  studies, '  they  have  therein  done  precisely 
what  the  law,  in  so  many  words,  allows  and  empowers  them  to 
do.  Indeed,  a  much  stronger  interpretation  of  the  clause, 
'WITHOUT  EXCLUDING  other  scientific  and  classical  studies,' 
is  held  by  many  eminent  lawyers  and  jurists  to  be  legitimate,  if 
not  even  obligatory.  In  their  view  it  would  be  by  no  means  an 
unwarrantable  construction  to  regard  the  italicized  words  in  the 
above  quotation  as  but  another  form  of  REQUIREMENT— as 
coupling  the  duty  of  not  excluding  certain  studies,  with  that  of 
including  certain  other  studies,  and  embracing  both  alike  in  the 
positive  injunctions  of  the  statute.  But  while  this  view  is  not 
without  much  force,  and  is  strenuously  maintained  by  many,  I 
have  preferred  to  adopt  the  permissive  or  optional  theory,  be- 
cause it  is  the  one  about  which  there  cannot  be  the  semblance 
of  cloud  or  doubt." 


302  Ilisforif  Univcrsily  of  Illinois 

There  is  no  doubt,  then,  that  the  interpretation  of  Mr. 
Dunlap  and  Mr.  Bateman  was  the  interpretation  of  the  founders ; 
and  if  a  little  more  liberality  than  they  might  have  allowed,  in 
the  direction  of  the  classics  was,  on  the  whole,  not  unfortunate 
for  the  institution,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  also  was  fortunate 
that  there  was  one  on  hand  to  prod  the  new  institution  out  when 
it  began  a  comfortable  straying  into  the  ruts  of  the  old  educa- 
tion. That  the  new  education  was  intended  to  be  no  royal  road 
to  learning  is  attested  by  the  following  paragraph  still  from  Mr. 
Bateman 's  significant  address. 

'•'There  is  one  proposition  of  fundamental  importance  in 
this  whole  matter  of  industrial  education:  If  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  are  ever  to  take,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  men,  the  commanding  position  to  which  they  are  justly 
entitled,  those  who  are  educated  for  them  must  be  AS  THOR- 
OUGHLY AND  COMPLETELY  EDUCATED,  as  those  who  are 
trained  for  other  pursuits  and  professions.  I  consider  this  truth, 
and  the  recognition  of  it,  as  absolutely  vital  to  success.  If  a 
farmer  or  an  artisan  is  AS  WELL  EDUCATED  as  a  lawyer,  a 
phj'sician,  or  a  senator — if  he  has,  I  mean,  as  much  knowledge, 
as  profound  a  mastery  of  scientific  and  philosophical  principles 
as  much  self-knowledge  and  self -independence,  as  much  varied  at- 
tainment, as  much  BRAIN  POWER,  THOUGHT  POWER,  and 
HEART  POWER,  he  will  be  the  PEER  of  the  latter,  in  influ- 
ence and  honor  and  usefulness  and  force,  anywhere  and  every- 
where and  always — but  if  not,  he  will  be  inferior  to  the  other  in 
power  and  influence,  and  no  device,  or  pretense,  or  declamation, 
or  protest,  or  sophistry  can  make  it  otherAvise.  The  difference 
will  exist  precisely  as  long  as  the  causes  that  produced  it ;  it  is 
simply  the  difference  between  weakness  and  strength.  I  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  here  with  the  means  and  instrumental- 
ities of  education,  but  only  with  the  FACT,  the  PRODUCT,  the 
FINISHED  WORK  of  culture.  And  I  affirm  again,  that  the 
cause,  and  the  only  cause,  of  the  immensely  superior  power  here- 
tofore wielded  in  the  affairs  of  men,  by  the  professional  classes 
over  the  industrial  classes,  is  that  the  one  have  thus  far  been 
better  educated  than  the  other.  And  now,  if  these  Universities 
of  the  people  expect  successfully  to  compete,  in  their  appropriate 


University  Organizes  303 

spheres,  with  those  which  are  already  hoary  with  age  and  vener- 
able with  honors;  which  are  completely  equipped  and  manned, 
and  impregnably  intrenched  among  the  very  foundation  stones 
of  our  whole  educational  and  social  system,  and  interwoven  with. 
all  of  our  ideas  of  intellectual  culture  and  progress  as  a  nation — • 
if  this  is  expected,  (and  to  expect  less  would  be  to  invite  contempt 
and  defeat,  at  the  outset),  the  one  palpable,  essential  and  indis- 
pensable condition  is,  that  the  education  for  which  they  provide 
must  be  equal  in  ALL  ESSENTIAL  POINTS,  in  extent,  in  com- 
prehensiveness, in  thoroughness,  and  in  inspiration  and  power, 
with  that  afforded  by  the  old  colleges  and  universities  of  the 
country.  Our  courses  of  study  must  be  as  broad ;  our  apparatus, 
libraries,  cabinets,  and  other  auxiliaries  and  appliances,  must  be 
as  ample  and  as  good;  our  professors,  lecturers,  and  teachers, 
must  be  able  and  earnest,  as  learned,  adapted,  and  devoted,  as 
theirs." 

In  the  regent's  address  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  he 
already  appreciated  the  difficulty  of  the  pioneer  in  a  strange 
land  in  a  new  cause :  ' '  The  Industrial  University  is  peculiarly 
a  child  of  the  popular  will, ' '  he  said.  ' '  Designed  to  promote,  by 
education,  the  industrial  interests  of  the  largest  classes  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  challenging,  on  this  very  ground,  popular  sympathy  and 
support,  it  is  on  these  accounts  more  liable  to  be  affected  by  the 
fluctuations  of  public  sentiment  regarding  it  than  institutions  of 
a  less  popiUar  constitution.  A  thousand  noble  but  vague  hopes 
and  aspirations  will  look  here  to  find  the  help  they  crave;  a 
thousand  deeply  felt  needs  of  skill  or  power  will  turn  to  this 
University  for  their  supply  without  knowing  precisely  how  it 
is  to  be  gained.  Evils  long  endured  will  send  up  here  their  ap- 
peal for  remedies.  Fierce  resentments  against  old  wrongs  or 
fancied  wrongs,  and  still  fiercer  resolves  in  favor  of  cherished 
reforms  or  fancied  reforms,  will  demand  or  battle  in  their  cause. 
Urged  by  such  a  variety  of  notions,  and  viewing  the  matter  from 
such  a  diversity  of  standpoints,  it  ^\^ll  not  be  wonderful  if  an 
almost  endless  variety  of  plans  shall  be  presented  for  our  guid- 
ance. '  '^® 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  regent's  ideas  of  what  con- 
"Ibid.,  177.     Bateman's  address.     Ibid.,  155. 


304  History  University  of  niinois 

stitutes  industrial  education  seem  vague  when  compared  with 
those  of  Turner  and  the  agriculturists.^  ^  Possibly  it  was  because 
he  realized  as  they  did  not  the  great  difficulties  to  be  met.  He 
emphatically  avers  that  the  highest  culture  is  compatible  with 
the  active  pursuit  of  industry  and  the  richest  learning  will  pay 
in  a  cornfield  or  a  carpenter's  shop,  and  that  if  the  people  can  be 
convinced  of  this  they  will  have  it.  ' '  Prove  that  education  in  its 
highest  form,  will  'pay'  and  you  have  made  for  it  the  market 
of  the  world."  But  just  wherein  this  culture  consists,  and  how 
it  is  to  be  presented  to  a  world  willing  to  pay  for  it  if  only  said 
world  can  be  brought  to  a  conviction  of  its  need,  does  not  appear. 

The  newspaper  reports  of  the  inauguration  vary  from  ful- 
some adulation  of  the  new  enterprise  to  open  and  hilarious  dis- 
belief. The  Cliampaign  Democrat  of  March  14,  1868,  waxes  thus 
enthusiastic  over  the  inaugural : 

"This  may  be  justly  called  a  magnificent  affair  throughout; 
happy  in  its  conception  and  successful  and  harmonious  in  its 
execution.  The  substantial  feast  prepared  for  the  occasion  was 
highly  creditable  to  our  citizens,  and  was  destroyed  with  a  relish. 

"The  music — ah,  the  glorious,  delicious  music!  The  en- 
chanting harmony,  the  inspiring  melody,  the  very  soul  of  sound 
grandly  swelling  or  sweetly  dying  away  like  'angels'  whispers." 
Then  came  the  announcement  that  the  piano  which  aided  so  ma- 
terially in  producing  this  "soul  of  sound"  was  for  sale  and  that 
"here  is  a  rare  chance  for  some  of  our  citizens  to  secure  and 
keep  among  us  this  chef  d'oeuvre  of  musical  art." 

The  Cliicago  Evening  Post  of  March  12,  1868,  viewed  the 
inauguration  from  a  very  different  angle.  The  dinner  ironically 
referred  to  as  a  "banquet"  was,  according  to  the  Post's  scribe, 
"gotten  up  in  the  highest  style  of  Central  Illinois,  hog  and 
hominy."  Compliments  to  the  faculty  of  the  new  institution 
were  expressed  in  the  following  terms :  ' '  Gentlemen  of  the  Illi- 
nois Industrial  University  the  spouting  of  the  spouters  cannot 
save  you !  Your  institution  in  the  hands  of  a  parcel  of  decayed 
or  otherwise  incapacitated  preachers,  who  have  not  the  remotest 
comprehension  of  the  demands  of  modern  civilization  upon  the 
young  men  of  the  West,  will,  for  all  the  higher  purposes  for 
which  it  was  founded,  be  useless ;  hence  a  bore  and  a  nuisance. ' ' 

*Ubid,  182. 


University  Organizes  305 

Compliments  to  the  board  of  trustees  were  delivered  thus: 
"Between  the  Trustees,  some  of  whom  are  incompetent,  others 
of  whom  are  careless  in  their  duties,  and  still  others  of  whom 
have  an  eye  to  bringing  the  institution  under  theological  control, 
— between  these  Trustees  and  the  Faculty,  composed  for  the 
greater  part  of  preachers  who  are  ignorant  of  Science  in  its  ap- 
plication to  industry,  we  shall  have — let  the  course  of  study 
adopted  at  the  University  of  Illinois  tell  what ! ' ' 

The  university,  of  course,  could  not  be  conducted  long  on 
either  flowery  eloquence  or  virulent  criticism.  Eeal,  consistent, 
hard,  every  day  labor  must  be  performed  and  to  do  this  the 
faculty  was  employed.  In  addition  to  the  regent  and  the  two 
professors  elected  in  November,  a  fourth  man  was  added  during 
the  spring  term.  On  the  first  day  recitations  were  held  Judge 
Cunningham  stepped  into  a  recitation  room  where  the  regent 
was  teaching  mathematics.  Dr.  Gregory  said  that  he  really  had 
not  the  time  for  such  work  but  was  compelled  to  do  it  because 
he  had  been  unable  to  find  a  suitable  man  for  the  position.  Cun- 
ningham recommended  the  principal  of  the  Urbana  schools, 
Thomas  J.  Burrill,  who  had  accompanied  Major  Powell  on  his 
''Rocky  Mountain"  expedition  the  previous  summer,  as  an  en- 
thusiastic and  promising  young  man.  The  fact  that  the  Urbana 
schools  closed  early  for  lack  of  funds  to  continue,  made  it  possible 
for  Burrill  to  accept  the  place  in  the  faculty  of  the  new  univer- 
sity in  April.  Thus  began  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  educa- 
tional careers  in  the  middle  west,  a  career  that  ended  only  when 
death  claimed  him,  a  simple  grand  old  man  too  busy  to  realize 
it  could  be  quitting  time. 

The  first  faculty  meeting  of  the  university  Avas  held  on 
March  13,  a  few  days  after  the  inaugural  exercises.  The  record 
of  the  first  two  meetings  is  brief  but  reveals  much : 

"1868  Friday  evening,  March  13th. 

1.  A  meeting  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Illinois  Industrial 

University  was  held  this  evening  at  the  room  of  the 
Regent — Present,  the  Regent  (Dr.  Gregory),  Prof. 
Baker  and  Prof.  Atherton. 


>06  Hisiorn  rniversifjf  of  Illinois 

The  -workiii.tr  plan  which  has  been  in  operation 
since  the  opening  of  the  term,  March  2d,  was  considered 
somewhat  in  detail,  and  no  present  changes  found  nec- 
essary. 

The  following  votes  were  passed — 

That  a  meeting  of  the  Faculty  be  held  every  Mon- 
day evening. 

That  under  authority  conferred  by  the  Ti-ustees, 
tuition  be  remitted  to  students  Cragie  and  L.  E.  Shinn 
of  Champaign  Co.,  and  to  students  Rader  and  Stoddert 
of  Coles  Co. 

That  the  Honoraiy  Scholarship  of  Sangamon  Co. 
be  awarded  to  student  Staples. 

That  Prof.  Atherton,  for  the  present,  act  as  Secre- 
tary to  the  Faculty. 

Adjourned. 

G.  W.  Atherton,  Sec." 


Monday  evening,  Mar.  16,  1868. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Faculty  the  following  votes 
were  passed — 

That  labor  hours  be,  for  the  pi'esent,  from  1 :30  to 
3 :30  P.  M. 

That  lectures  on  U.  States  History  be  delivered 
by  Prof.  Atherton ;  be  delivered  the  first  hour  on  Mon- 
day moniing,  and  from  4  to  5  on  Thursday  afternoons. 

That  lectures  on  Physiology  be  delivered  by  Dr. 
Gregory  on  Tuesday  afternoons. 

That  Military  drill,  under  supervision  of  Prof.  Ather- 
ton, be  held  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday  after- 
noons. 

Adjourned. 

G.  W.  Atherton,  Sec."^^ 


*Fa<;ulty  Hecord ;  I.  I.  I.  U.  (Illinois  Industrial  University). 


U7iiversity  Organizes  307 

The  military  drill  thus  begun  under  direction  of  Professor 
Atherton  was  continued  the  next  two  terms  under  the  supervision 
of  Colonel  S.  W.  Shattuck,  and  in  the  spring  terai  of  1869  by 
Captain  Edward  Snyder  who  held  the  position  of  commandant 
until  the  United  States  government  assigned  a  regular  anny 
officer  to  this  work  in  1878. 

The    university  was    actually  started,    it  had  a  regent,    a 
faculty,  and  a  student  body ;  three  essentials  of  a  modern  educa- 
tional institution.     Different  groups  of  men  had  contributed  to 
its  establishment ;  it  was  noAv  to  be  seen  what  spirit  would  domi 
nate  its  accomplishment. 


308  History  Univcrsihj  of  Illinois 

CHAPTER  XII 
THE  FIRST  TWO  YEARS  OF  UNIVERSITY  WORK 

After  the  enthusiasm  incited  by  the  inauguration  had  died 
away,  the  university  settling  down  to  every  day  existence  found 
itself  confronted  with  hard  facts  and  hard  times.  It  had  to  work 
its  way  against  unbelief;  money  was  far  from  plentiful  and  a 
proper  expansion  impossible  without  it.  It  was  soon  apparent 
that  unless  the  legislature  could  be  induced  to  appropriate  funds 
for  the  new  enterprise,  it  must  certainly  fail.  Attention  was 
tlicn  directed  to  the  method  that  should  be  employed  to  secure 
legislative  aid. 

In  1868  Dr.  J.  W.  Seroggs  obtained  the  republican  nomina- 
tion for  representative,  and  one  fact  strongly  urged  in  his  favor 
was  that  he  would  push  the  financial  interests  of  the  university 
in  the  general  assembly.  At  least  one  newspaper,  when  it  was 
understood  that  the  legislature  was  to  be  asked  for  appropria- 
tions, recalled  that  Champaign  had  grandly  announced  when 
bidding  for  the  location,  that  she  had  ample  buildings  and  means 
to  run  the  university  without  cost  to  the  state.  ^  But  what  a 
group  of  politicians  eager  to  possess  had  promised,  a  group  of 
educators  had  to  fulfill  and  fulfillment  was  impossible.  Money 
was  absolutely  essential  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  Champaign 
Gazette  J.  W.  Seroggs  was  the  man  to  get  it.  But  the  mention 
of  money  plus  the  name  Seroggs  aroused  apprehension,  and  the 
Illinois  Democrat,  of  July  3,  1868,  in  its  alarm  thus  indignantly 
inquires : 

"Arc  those  'several  things'  which  the  Gazette  says  the  uni- 
versity wants,  an  intimation  that  Champaign  is  to  send  agents  to 
the  legislature  to  repeat  the  infamy  of  1865  and  1867?  Is  the 
Champaign  swindle  ring  about  to  reorganize,  and  is  another 
fraud  to  be  perpetrated  among  the  people  by  the  county  and  an- 
other raid  made  upon  the  county  treasury?  Has  somebody 
another  tumljlc  down  old  man-trap  to  sell  to  the  county  at  three 
or  four  times  its  value?  Is  another  committee  to  be  appointed 
^Jacksonville  Journal,  December  17,  1868. 


00 

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First  Yeai's  of  Work  309 

and  commissioned  and  furnished  with  funds  for  the  open  and 
avowed  purpose  of  bribery  and  corruption?  Are  rooms  to  be 
again  taken  at  the  Leland  House,  an  agent  procured  to  open  a 
whiskey  chebang,  and  ten  thousand  dollars  put  into  his  hands  to 
buy  ten  votes  with,  and  all  this  in  the  interest  of  the  industrial 
university  ? ' ' 

The  article  concluded  with  the  fervent  hope  that  if  the  uni- 
versity wanted  anything  of  the  legislature  it  should  ask  for  it 
through  the  regent  and  the  board  of  trustees  and  not  again  ap- 
proach the  legislators  as  they  were  approached  when  the  loca- 
tion was  sought.  ' '  The  location  of  the  College  here  was  obtained 
by  means  that  were  infamous, ' '  declared  the  Democrat,  ' '  and  if 
the  trustees  consent  to  see  such  means  continued  to  obtain  an 
increase  of  endowment  or  other  favors  we  shall  consent  to  see 
that  institution  take  its  final  step  into  contemptible  oblivion." 
Apprehension  was  soon  allayed,  however,  for  Kegent  Gregory 
had  no  intention  of  allow^ing  the  work  of  petitioning  the  legis- 
lature for  funds  to  devolve  upon  a  politician ;  therefore,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  held  in  Urbana,  November  18, 
1868,  he  announced  that  the  vital  question  that  should  engage 
the  attention  of  the  members  was  the  propriety  of  asking  the 
legislature  for  funds.-  It  was  obvious  that  the  interests,  if  not 
indeed,  the  success  of  the  university  depended  upon  prompt  and 
sufficient  state  aid  and  in  this  it  did  not  differ  from  agricultural 
institutions  in  other  states.  In  order  to  carry  on  the  experi- 
mental work,  the  farms  and  gardens  as  the  public  expected, 
money  that  would  strain  the  available  funds  to  the  point  w^here 
the  work  of  instruction  would  be  seriously  crippled,  was  re- 
quired ;  therefore  the  necessity  of  an  appeal  for  financial  aid  to 
the  legislature. 

In  a  business  like  manner  the  needs  of  the  institution  were 
spread  before  the  legislators,  instead  of  the  latest  delicacies  of 
the  cook's  art;  the  power  of  a  strong  agricultural  college  to  the 
future  was  used  to  persuade  instead  of  the  popping  cork  and 
jingling  pocket.  Yet  the  new  methods  impressed,  for  when  the 
committee  on  education  of  the  house  of  representatives  had  re- 
ported in  favor  of  the  appropriation,  Gregory  vigorously  defined 

^Second  annual  report  of  the  ioard  of  trustees,  p.  48. 


810  Historif  Universitii  of  Illinois 

the  aims  of  the  university.^  He  said  that  the  university  was  not 
organized,  as  many  were  inclined  to  insist,  to  educate  the  great 
masses  of  the  people,  and  to  say  that  was  mere  rhetoric  and 
pretense  for  it  was  something  that  one  industrial  university  abso- 
lutely could  not  do.  Nor  was  it  to  educate  the  people  or  any 
part  of  them  in  simple  elementary  learning ;  that  was  the  prov- 
ince of  the  common  schools.  The  object  of  the  industrial  univer- 
sity was  "to  instruct  those  who  aim  at  higher  scholarship  and 
who  wish  to  fit  themselves  by  a  thorough  and  liberal  education, 
not  merely  for  manual  labor  but  for  the  science  of  the  shop  and 
farm — to  be  able  to  solve  the  great  problems  of  agriculture  and 
to  teach  to  others  its  truths."  Therefore  in  offering  a  liberal 
education  it  was  necessary  that  the  university  be  prepared  to  give 
such  instruction  that  its  graduates  would  come  out  as  broadly 
and  as  liberally  educated  as  graduates  of  law  or  medicine.  This 
was  properly  not  an  appeal  at  all  but  a  statement  of  the  cold 
hard  truth  and  yet  it  proved  that  it  was  possible  to  influence 
legislators  through  the  understanding  and  reason  instead  of 
through  the  physical  senses. 

Gregory,  in  order  to  inform,  to  arouse  interest,  and  to  bring 
influence  to  bear  upon  the  state  assembly,  put  the  university's 
needs  before  various  groups  of  men  who  from  their  occupations 
understood  the  need  of  industrial  development.  As  a  result  of 
a  convincing  address  by  the  regent  on  the  need  of  a  fund  for  ex- 
perimental purposes,  the  Illinois  state  horticultural  society  in  its 
thirteenth  annual  meeting  at  Bunker  Hill,  commencing  Decem- 
ber 15, 1869,  passed  resolutions  asking  the  general  assembly  to  ap- 
propriate $22,000  for  a  system  of  experiments  in  horticulture. 
Yet  at  this  meeting  Jonathan  B.  Turner  expressed  his  utter  dis- 
belief in  the  new  enterprise. 

He  reminded  his  hearers  that  for  two  years  he  had  been 
silent  upon  the  subject  of  agricultural  education  for  there  were 
certain  things  in  connection  with  the  location  of  the  industrial 
university  that  he  considered  shocking,  that  he  had  been  unable 
to  get  over,  and  for  these  reasons  he  had  not  been  near  the  institu- 
tion. From  the  newspaper  reports  and  from  the  circulars  issued 
by  the  university  itself,  he  felt  that  he  must  pronounce  it  a  com- 
•Springfield,  State  Journal,  February  5,  1869. 


First  Years  of  Work  311 

plete  failure.  The  men  at  the  head  were  honest  but  they  failed 
to  comprehend  the  purpose  for  which  the  institution  was 
founded.  They  attended  conventions  and  agreed  with  the  prac- 
tical agriculturist  in  all  the  abstract  theories,  and  then  went 
home  and  did  precisely  as  they  had  been  doing.  He  believed 
that  the  world  advanced  but  that  the  men  at  the  head  of  the 
industrial  university  were  hopelessly  stationary,  and  that  a  fatal 
mistake  had  been  made  when  these  men  had  been  placed  in  their 
positions.  Theologians,  according  to  Turner,  had  no  proper 
place  in  the  building  up  of  an  agricultural  college  because  they 
were  absolutely  unable  to  understand  the  problems.  "The  ele- 
ments of  an  agricutural  education,"  he  said,  "are  not  all  found 
in  books  but  also  in  observation;  and  these  teachers  ought  to  be 
men  who  have  made  the  sciences  of  agriculture  and  horticulture 
their  special  studies — not  mere  book  scholars. '  '* 

In  spite  of  opposition,  however,  there  was  sufficient  belief 
in  the  university  and  hope  for  it  to  guarantee  success  to  the  cam- 
paign for  funds.  It  was  a  crucial  period  in  the  history  of  the 
institution  for  if  further  financial  assistance  had  been  refused  at 
that  time,  it  probably  would  have  sunk  to  the  level  of  an  insignifi- 
cant classical  school  with  a  few  cows  and  pigs  and  an  ill  kept  farm 
to  give  it  an  agricultural  flavor.  As  the  first  appropriation 
meant  so  much  to  the  future  of  the  university,  the  text  is  given 
in  full. 

"An  act  making  appropriation  for  the  benefit  and  completion 
of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University. 

"Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  state  of  Illinois 
represented  in  the  General  Assembly,  that  the  sum  of  sixty 
thousand  dollars  be  and  is  hereby  appropriated  to  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University,  located  at  Urbana,  Champaign  County, 
Illinois,  in  amount  and  for  the  purposes  hereinafter  set  forth  viz. : 
To  the  barns  and  other  outbuildings  for  the  experimental  and 
stock  farm ;  houses  for  the  farmer  and  farm  laborers ;  fencing, 
draining,  wells,  teams,  tools,  seeds,  bridges,  roads,  fruit  and 
forest  trees,  and  stock  of  several  breeds  and  varieties,  twelve 
thousand  five  hundred  dollai's  per  annum  for  two  years. 
*Prairie  Farmer,  January  30,  1869. 


312  History  University  of  Illinois 

"To  the  Horticultural  Department,  including  horticultural 
buildings  and  structures,  house  for  gardener,  barn  and  tool 
house,  horticultural  implements,  fencing,  underdraining  roads, 
forest  and  fruit  trees,  shrubs,  plants,  etc.,  ten  thousand  dollars 
per  annum  for  two  years. 

"To  the  Chemical  Department,  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
dollars. 

"To  be  used  for  other  apparatus  and  for  books,  by  direction 
of  the  Trustees,  ten  thousand  dollars. 

"Sec.  2.  The  Auditor  of  Public  accounts  is  hereby  author- 
ized and  required  to  draw  his  warrants  upon  the  treasurer  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  for  the  said  sums  of  money  upon  the  order 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  said  university,  signed  by  the  Regent, 
and  attested  by  the  secretary  of  said  Board  with  the  seal  of  said 
institution  affixed  thereto ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  treas- 
urer, and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  pay  the  same  out  of  monies 
in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Provided  that  said  orders  of  said  Trustees  shall  not  be 
given  except  as  in  their  judgment  the  necessity  arises  for  the  ex- 
penditure of  the  monies  so  appropriated  for  the  specific  purpose 
herein  provided. 

"Sec.  3.  The  act  shall  be  deemed  a  public  act,  and  be  in 
force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

"Sec.  4.  The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  not  create  any  indebt- 
edness, nor  incur  any  liabilities  beyond  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

"Approved  March  27,  1869. "^ 

Sixty  thousand  dollars  for  the  biennium ;  it  was  a  generous 
sum  for  the  time  and  was  probably  just  about  as  much  as  the 
university  could  make  wise  use  of. 

The  university  opened  for  its  second  term  of  work  on  Sep- 
tember 18, 1868,  with  an  attendance  of  only  seventy-two  students, 
which  by  March,  1869,  had  increased  to  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
six.  It  is  difficult  to  state  the  distribution  of  the  students  through 
the  various  courses  as  many  of  them  were  engaged  in  prepara- 
toiy  studies,  but,  in  the  opinion  of  the  regent,  at  least  one-third 

"Laws  of  Illinois,  1SG9;  published  in  Prairie  Farmer,  April  24,  1869. 


First  Years  of  Work  313 

were  taking  the  course  in  agriculture  or  had  signified  an  inten- 
tion of  entering  upon  it  when  prepared.*'  The  first  catalogue  is 
interesting  in  that  it  reveals  the  paternal  attitude  of  the  time 
toward  students.  "No  pains  will  be  spared  to  counsel  the  inex- 
perienced," is  promised,  "to  admonish  the  careless  and  to  save 
the  tempted.  Especially  will  it  be  an  object  to  establish  and 
maintain  that  high  toned,  refined  and  honored  public  sentiment, 
which  is  at  once  the  best  safeguard  against  meanness  and  vice, 
and  a  constant  inspiration  to  nobleness  and  virtue. ' '  The  students 
lived  in  the  university  building,  which  had  sixty  private  rooms, 
each  designed  to  accommodate  two  persons.  The  students  brought 
their  o"vvn  furnishings  including  stoves.  Naturally  the  personal 
upheaval  of  fuel  caused  long  remembered  episodes.  Students 
were  urged,  in  this  catalogue,  to  come  to  the  university,  and  not 
to  let  the  mere  lack  of  money  keep  them  from  its  benefits.  '  *  You 
can  find  work  on  the  university  farm  and  gardens,  or  in  the 
shops  for  which  you  will  be  paid  twelve  and  one-half  cents  per 
hour,  if  diligent  and  faithful.  You  can  easily,  without  hindering 
your  studies,  work  three  hours  a  day,  and  if  needful  the  whole 
day  on  Saturdays.  Come  without  fear.  What  man  has  done 
man  can  do,"  Prize  scholarships  and  honorary  scholarships 
were  offered  to  increase  attendance,  but  even  so  the  student  body 
increased  in  numbers  slowly. 

The  student  life  of  the  time  is  best  ascertained  from  those 
who  participated  in  it.  J.  A.  Ockerson  of  the  class  of  1873,  the 
well  known  engineer  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  writes : 

"In  those  days,  'burning  the  midnight  oil'  in  study  was  the 
rule  rather  than  the  exception.  There  were  no  'pampered  sons 
of  the  idle  rich'  among  the  students  and  some  of  us  were  com- 
pelled to  use  the  strictest  economy  to  eke  out  a  bare  existence.  A 
carefully  kept  account  of  food  expenses  shows  an  average  month- 
ly cost  of  $4.10  during  one  college  year.'^  The  food  was  pre- 
pared in  the  dormitory  rooms  by  our  own  hands  and  needed  no 
Mr.  Hoover  to  conserve  the  supply. 

'Second  annual  report  of  the  hoard  of  trustees,  p.  62. 
'Charles  Wesley  Eolfe  of  the  class  of  1872  says  this  monthly  expense 
was  a  bit  high. 


314  History  Ihnveraitjj  of  Illinois 

"Some  found  it  necessary  to  remain  at  the  dormitory  during 
the  Christmas  holidays  on  the  score  of  economy,  but  still  were 
alive  to  the  necessity  of  ushering  in  the  New  Year  with  a  big 
noise  of  welcome.  With  meagre  facilities  for  such  work  we 
borrowed  a  musket  from  the  armory  and  loaded  it  with  a  goodly 
charge  of  powder  and  when  the  proper  time  arrived  a  doraiitory 
door  was  opened,  the  gun  pointed  down  the  corridor,  the  trigger 
was  pulled  and  a  satisfactory  noise  shook  the  walls  of  the  old 
building.  More  that  that,  the  concussion  blew  out  the  window 
at  the  end  of  the  corridor.  By  the  time  the  rattle  of  glass  had 
ceased,  the  dormitory  door  was  closed  and  silence  reigned  in  - 
the  darkened  room  where  the  occupants  had  learned  a  new  lesson 
in  the  effect  of  concussion. 

"The  University  itself  furnished  employment  in  digging 
ditches,  laying  drain  tile,  planting  trees  and  various  other  work 
paying  therefor  at  the  rate  of  15  cents  per  hour.  Even  at  that 
rate  we  were  in  some  cases  overpaid. ' ' 

The  great  inspiration  possible  to  the  young  men  and  women 
attending  this  new  and  struggling  institution  can  not  be  better 
expressed  than  in  the  words  of  Lorado  Taft,  the  sculptor,  who 
received  here  the  great  impulse  for  his  life's  work.  In  writing 
of  the  period  of  the  early  seventies  he  said : 

"As  a  near  neighbor  and  later  a  pupil,  it  was  my  privilege 
to  see  Dr.  Gregory  almost  every  day  for  ten  years.  Two  in- 
cidents remain  particularly  vivid.  The  first  was  a  wonderful  lec- 
ture on  sculpture  illustrated  \\dth  stereoptiean  views  more  beau- 
tiful than  I  have  ever  seen  since.  I  was  thirteen  or  fourteen  and 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  speaker  made  my  blood  tingle!  Nothing 
had  ever  so  appealed  to  me.  A  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth 
w^ere  opened  up  to  my  imagination.  Unconsciously  that  night 
settled  my  fate.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  when  the 
entertainment  was  repeated  at  Urbana,  a  few  evenings  later,  I 
was  in  a  front  seat. 

"The  purpose  of  the  lecture  was  a  most  novel  and  improb- 
able undertaking:  to  awaken  interest  for  a  local  art  collection. 
Dr.  Gregory's  eloquence  won  the  day  and  all  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  Champaign  and  Urbana,  and  particularly  the  Faculty, 
contributed  to  a  fund  of  several  thousand  dollars  for  the  pur- 


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First  Years  of  Work  315 

chase  of  plaster  casts  and  photographs  of  the  world's  master- 
pieces. Dr.  Gregory  went  abroad  and  expended  the  money 
wisely,  selecting  with  the  judgment  of  an  authority. 

*  *  My  second  great  memory  was  a  scene  in  the  west  basement 
of  University  Hall.  Scores  of  strange-looking  packing  cases  and 
bushels  of  fragments  of  plaster  casts!  It  might  have  been 
Armageddon  or  the  Last  Judgment !  Some  few  figures  came  forth 
from  their  shrouds  intact  and  a  small  number  were  but  slightly 
damaged,  but  the  majority  were  smashed  apparently  beyond  re- 
demption. The  'hope  of  Western  art'  lay  reduced  to  an  ash 
heap. 

"Not  a  bit  of  it !  Dr.  Gregoiy  and  my  father  put  on  their 
overalls  and  devoted  hours  every  afternoon  to  patching  those 
fragments  together.  I  was  fascinated  with  these  magnificent 
puzzles  and  soon  became  expert  in  finding  '  fits. '  Then  Mr.  Kenis, 
a  little  Belgian  sculptor,  was  lured  from  Chicago  and  the  work 
went  merrily  on.  The  Laocoon  group,  now  standing  in  the  vesti- 
bule of  the  Auditorium,  was  in  a  thousand  pieces.  If  you  do  not 
believe  it,  let  a  committee  scrape  awa^^  the  paint  and  you  will  find 
them! 

"When  the  collection  w^as  opened  to  the  public  it  was  the 
first  thing  of  the  kind  in  all  the  West ;  a  wonder  to  countless  visi- 
tors, an  inspiration  to  generations  of  students.  Dr.  Gregory  on 
the  platform  and  Dr.  Gregoiy  in  blue  overalls  had  made  it 
possible. 

"Every  University  of  Illinois  student  of  the  '70s  will  tell 
you  of  Dr.  Gregory's  morning  chapel  talks,  those  earnest,  kindly 
appeals  with  their  almost  personal  challenge  to  each  one  of  us. 
Proud  as  we  are  today  of  the  giant  institution  which  we  claim  as 
Alma  Mater,  with  its  army  of  teachers  and  its  cityful  of  pupils, 
one  must  acknowledge  that  something  very  precious  has  been 
lost  in  the  passing  of  these  intimate  chapel  meetings.  On  the 
occasional  Sunday  afternoon  addresses  the  attendance  was  al- 
ways large  and  eager.  How  eloquently  that  rich  voice  used  to 
ring  in  our  ears !  The  very  reading  of  the  Scripture  was  impres- 
sive. Across  all  these  forty  years  I  recall  some  of  the  texts  and 
the  very  intonation  with   which  they   were  spoken:     "Vanity, 


316  History  University  of  Illinois 

vanity:  all  is  vanity '  and  'Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues 

of  men  and  angels  and  have  not  charity ' 

"But  closer  and  dearer  were  the  ties  of  class  room  and  lec- 
ture hour.  I  remember  with  especial  pleasure  a  course  of  lec- 
tures, in  the  early  days,  on  French  history,  a  subject  on  which  Dr. 
Gregory  was  unusually  informed.  Each  character  was  por- 
trayed with  masterly  strokes.  One  saw  Louis  XI  as  on  the  stage. 
Kichelieu's  triangular  face  lived  again  before  us.  'Le  Roi  Soleil' 
shone  resplendent  for  a  glittering,  gorgeous  moment — and  was 
gone . ' ' 

The  every  day  life  of  the  student  during  these  first  years 
is  described  by  F.  Adelia  (Potter)  Reynolds  of  the  class  of  1874, 
and,  it  may  be  mentioned  parenthetically,  the  first  woman  grad- 
uate to  be  married.  Mrs.  Reynolds'  father  and  mother  con- 
ducted the  boarding-hall  in  the  old  university  building  on  the 
request  of  Dr.  Gregory,  who  explained  that  there  were  no  ade- 
quate means  for  providing  rooms  and  board  for  students  near 
the  university,  and  he  had  a  great  desire  that  the  boys  just  com- 
ing from  home  for  the  first  time  might  find  a  sort  of  home  at 
reasonable  rates. 

"We  arrived,"  writes  Mrs.  Reynolds,  "about  midnight  at 
our  destination  and  the  next  morning  took  up  our  quarters  in 
the  university  building.  You  notice  I  say  the  building,  for  there 
was  but  one.  A  large,  plain,  red  brick  five  story  building  set 
down  flat,  in  the  black  Illinois  mud,  with  not  a  tree  nor  a  shrub, 
a  spear  of  grass  nor  a  fence.  It  was  as  desolate  a  place  as  possible 
to  imagine,  and  to  us,  just  from  a  pretty  little  village  home,  (in 
Wisconsin)  surrounded  by  trees  and  flowers,  it  was  enough  to 
make  us  homesick. 

"But  we  were  speedily  too  busy  to  be  homesick.  We  had 
for  our  private  use,  a  sitting-room,  a  sewing-room  and  three  bed- 
rooms on  the  second  floor.  Separated  from  them  by  a  little  hall 
was  the  large  dining  room  for  the  students.  This  afterwards 
became  the  librarj^,  and  our  rooms  were  thrown  together  and  be- 
came the  art  museum.  In  the  basement  was  the  long  kitchen, 
and  a  large  dumb  waiter  carried  the  food  to  the  dining  room. 

"My  mother  made  every  effort  to  carry  out  Dr.  Gregory's 
wishes  with  regard  to  having  a  home-like  table  for  a  reasonable 


First  Years  of  Work  317 

price.  I  think  the  board  was  $3.00  per  week.  In  the  dining- 
room  were  six,  and  sometimes  eight  long  tables  each  seating  ten 
persons.  These  were  always  nicely  set  with  white  linen  and 
pretty  china.  There  were  generally  sixty  or  over  at  table  for  the 
first  term.  Professor  Atherton  boarded  at  the  Hall,  most  of 
the  time  he  was  there.  He  and  Professor  Baker  (not  I.  0.)  were 
Dr.  Gregory's  only  associates  at  the  opening  of  the  classes. 
Among  the  boarders  were  Jim  Mathews,  Willie  Reiss,  James 
Graham,  Abbott,  Sawyer,  Lawver,  Will  Hubbard,  and  others.  I 
presume  they  all  remember  bright  red-cheeked  Lucy  and  her 
quiet  assistant  who  waited  on  table.  We  had  a  good  cook,  and 
there  was  an  effort  to  make  the  table  attractive  to  the  boys  from 
the  farms  who  had  always  had  good  living.  The  result  was  that 
m  a  little  over  a  year's  time  we  found  it  could  not  be  done,  and 
the  boarding-hall  was  given  up.  The  boys  boarded  in  clubs,  or 
took  care  of  themselves  in  their  rooms,  or  roomed  and  boarded 
with  near-bye  residents." 

" In  those  days  all  the  boys  were  obliged  to  work 

two  hours  a  day,  and  did  so  until  there  were  too  many,  and  then 
those  were  allowed  to  work  who  needed  the  money  to  help  pay 
expenses.  There  were  great  changes  in  the  first  few  months. 
Fences  were  built.  Trees  and  shrubs  were  set  out.  Grass  was 
sown,  and  the  refreshing  green  took  the  place  of  the  mud.  Gravel 
walks  were  laid  out,  and  made  it  possible  to  step  without  sinking 
shoe  deep  in  the  mud.  Altogether,  at  the  end  of  the  second 
spring  the  surroundings  were  entirely  changed." 

In  regard  to  the  spirit  of  the  institution,  the  origin  of  the 
literary  societies,  and  the  effect  of  the  admission  of  women,  an 
interesting  account  is  given  by  Charles  Wesley  Rolfe  of  the  class 
of  1872  who  was  for  thirty-seven  years  an  instructor  and  profes- 
sor in  the  university. 

"When  the  University  opened  its  doors,"  says  Professor 
Rolfe,  ' '  we  were  in  a  period  of  transition  between  the  old  educa- 
tion as  it  was  then  called,  based  primarily  on  a  study  of  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  the  new  which  had  for  its  basis  the  application  of 
science  to  the  affairs  of  daily  life.  The  movement  away  from 
the  classics  and  toward  the  sciences  was  then  relatively  new  and 
was  being  vigorously  pushed,  so  the  contest  between  the  two 


318  History  Univcraiiij  of  Illinois 

schools  of  education  was  exceedingly  bitter.  Some  one  at  that 
time  characterized  the  two  methods  of  education  in  this  way. 
'The  old  school  trains  the  student  to  express  his  thoughts  clearly 
and  effectively,  the  new  school  gives  him  sonie  thoughts  to  ex- 
press. '  This  statement  points  out  what  was  then  and  is  now  the 
weakest  point  in  a  scientific  education.  It  was  not  and  is  not  at 
all  difficult  to  find  a  man,  scientifically  educated,  thorough  master 
of  his  subject,  yet  utterly  incapable  of  imparting  his  knowledge 
to  others,  and  who  in  consequence  is  an  entire  failure  as  a  teacher. 

' '  Dr.  Gregoiy  saw  this  danger  very  clearly  and  as  one  means 
of  counteracting  it  he  devoted  a  large  share  of  his  daily  chapel 
talks  to  different  phases  of  this  subject.  These  talks  were  all 
the  more  effective  because  he  had  in  his  faculty  at  the  time  an 
exceedingly  brilliant  man,  universally  liked  by  the  students, 
unusually  successful  in  all  his  personal  undertakings  and  yet 
except  for  the  enthusiasm  he  inspired  in  his  students  a  com- 
plete failure  as  a  teacher.  Dr.  Gregory  was  so  much  in  earnest 
about  this  matter  that  he  sometimes  permitted  himself  to  use 
rather  startling  methods  in  order  to  drive  home  his  point.  One 
morning,  having  been  detained  in  his  office  a  few  minutes  beyond 
the  time  for  chapel  assembly,  he  hurriedly  entered  the  room, 
walked  quickly  up  the  aisle,  mounted  the  platform  and  as  he 
suddenly  turned  said  '  Boys,  it  does  not  make  any  difference  how 
much  good  stuff  is  in  a  jug,  if  the  stopper  is  driven  so  tight  it 
cannot  be  drawn  the  whole  thing  is  almost  worthless.'  Then 
using  this  as  a  text  he  talked  to  us  for  half  an  hour  on  the  loss 
of  efficiency  which  many  men  suffer  through  their  inability  to 
tell  other  people  the  things  they  really  know.  This  talk  was  cer- 
tainly effective  not  only  through  the  clearness  with  which  the 
subject  was  presented  but  quite  as  much  through  the  unusual 
character  of  the  introduction. 

"As  another  means  to  the  same  end.  Dr.  Gregory  an- 
nounced one  morning  at  chapel  that  the  faculty  had  de- 
cided to  organize  two  literary  societies,  and  to  assign  each 
student  to  one  or  the  other.  He  then  proceeded  to  read 
the  roll  with  the  statement  that  the  even  numbered  students 
were  assigned  to  the  Philomathean  and  the  odd  numbered  to  the 
Adelphic.     It  will  be  seen  that  such  an  arrangement  came  as 


2:1  2  -2    .  ^'• 

•    -^  M 
o  -<  • 

2  °  ^  i3  1^ 


First  Years  of  Work  319 

near  as  was  possible  to  giving  the  two  societies  an  even  start,  yet 
no  two  groups  of  young  men  would  be  likely  to  differ  more 
widely  in  their  attitude  and  aims  than  did  these.  From  the  very 
beginning  the  Philos  emphasized  extemporaneous  speaking  and 
parlimentary  practice,  making  quick  decision,  ready  command  of 
parliamentary  law,  and  the  ability  to  think  clearly  while  on  the 
feet  and  to  put  the  thoughts  into  correct  and  accurate  English  the 
main  points  aimed  at,  while  the  Adelphics  paid  most  attention  to 
written  production,  essays  and  orations,  making  rhetorical  finish 
in  their  writings,  rather  than  ready  command  of  their  powers  in 
emergency,  the  main  objective.  Both  groups  were  enthusiastic 
in  their  work  and  their  Saturday  evening  meetings  were  often 
extended  far  into  the  night.  The  characteristics  of  these  two 
groups  can  easily  be  traced  in  the  after  life  of  their  membership. 

''The  law  under  which  the  University  was  organized  pro- 
vided that  students  who  were  not  physically  disabled  should 
drill.  Consequently  drill  was  a  part  of  the  program  from  the 
beginning.  We  were  required  to  drill  twice  a  week  Avhenever  the 
weather  permitted  and  as  companies  of  militia  were  not  very 
common  in  those  days,  an  extra  was  likely  to  be  called  for  when- 
ever prominent  persons  visited  the  University.  Company  escorts 
were  also  frequently  called  for  on  special  occasions  by  both 
the  faculty  and  the  people  of  the  two  cities.  We  drilled  through 
the  entire  four  years.  For  quite  a  number  of  years,  perhaps  fif- 
teen or  more,  the  military  idea  was  carried  much  further  and 
entered  much  more  largely  into  student  affairs  than  has  been 
the  case  since.    The  change,  I  think,  was  for  the  better. 

* '  The  students  of  the  early  days  were  mostly  from  the  farm, 
and  were  full  to  ovei*flowing  with  physical  vigor  and  as  a  con- 
sequence, while  there  was  very  little  that  could  be  called  mean- 
spirited  in  their  fun,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  roughness  and 
horse-play.  Sometimes  this  was  carried  so  far  as  to  be  rather 
unpleasant  to  those  who  were  not  accustomed  to  life  on  a  Avestern 
farm,  but  as  I  said  before  there  was  very  seldom  any  intentional 
meanness  about  it.  The  admission  of  girls  to  the  university  at 
the  beginning  of  the  third  year  had  a  tendency  to  modify  this 
roughness  to  a  considerable  degree.  The  girls  were  mostly  town 
bred  and  looked  with  disapproval  on  that  peculiar  type  of  rough- 
ness.    They  were  few  in  number  and  highly  respected  by  the 


320  History  University  of  Illinois 

boys,  so  to  a  large  extent  their  will  became  law  in  such  matters, 
at  least  during  school  hours  and  to  some  extent  throughout  the 
day.  I  do  not  think  the  admission  of  girls  had  any  other  appre- 
ciable effect  for  a  consideraljle  number  of  years.  The  University 
was  a  boys'  school  to  which  girls  were  admitted." 

The  faculty  list  as  presented  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
term  in  the  fall  of  1868  was  distinctly  promising  and  rather  im- 
posing, not  only  as  to  numbers  but  as  to  talent  represented.  In 
addition  to  the  four  instructors  of  the  spring  term,  Gregory, 
Baker,  Atherton,  and  Burrill,  there  were  now  on  the  list  J.  W. 
Powell,^  professor  of  natural  history  and  geologj^;  Willard  F. 
Bliss,  professor  of  agriculture,  A.  P.  S.  Stuart,  professor  of 
theoretical  and  applied  chemistry ;  Colonel  Samuel  W.  Shattuck, 
assistant  professor  of  mathematics  and  instructor  in  military 
tactics;  Captain  Edward  Snyder,  assistant  professor  in  book- 
keeping and  German :  non-resident  professors ;  John  A.  Warder, 
Cincinnati,  lecturer  on  vegetable  physiology  and  fruit  growing 
and  Edward  Eggleston,  Chicago,  lecturer  on  English  literature.^ 
Most  of  these  men  had  notable  careers,  some  of  them  honored 
the  Illinois  industrial  university  Avith  the  labors  of  a  lifetime, 
while  others  did  significant  work  elsewhere. 

The  task  of  organizing  the  work  of  agriculture,  which  de- 
partment was  intended  to  be  particularly  emphasized  in  the  new 
institution,  w^as  stupendous.  In  the  first  place  to  put  the  univer- 
sity farms  into  such  shape  that  they  might  serve  as  a  laboratory 
for  the  agricultural  department,  proved  a  huge  task  in  itself. 
Jonathan  Periam,  head  farmer,  undertook  the  work  with  grim 
determination,  large  enthusiasm,  and  exceptional  ability  and 
found  them  all  sadly  strained  before  even  a  good  beginning  was 
made.  From  the  depths  of  a  spirit  sorely  vexed,  he  exclaimed 
against  ' '  so  much  stock  running  at  large,  ranging  from  sucking 
pigs  to  droves  of  cattle  and  horses,  some  of  them,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  owned  by  persons  who  ought  to  have  felt  above  allowing  their 
stock  to  pasture  in  the  road."^*^    Not  only  had  predatory  stock 

^Other  interests,  chiefly  journeys  of  exploration,  took  the  time  of  Major 
Powell  so  that  he  never  actually  served  the  university  as  a  professor.  His 
resignation  was  presented  to  the  board  of  trustees  in  March,  1869. 

"Sketches  of  the  lives  of  the  members  of  the  early  faculty  and  their 
pictures  will  be  found  below,  p.  348. 

'"Second  annual  report  of  the  hoard  of  trustees,  p.  43  (a). 


First  Years  of  Work  321 

to  be  reckoned  with  but  predatory  humans  as  well ;  who,  when 
fences  were  doAvn  or  easily  broken  through,  regarded  the  univer- 
sity's carrots  and  potatoes  as  a  legitimate  means  of  lessening  the 
cost  of  living.  In  addition  to  these  troubles,  the  spring  of  1868 
was  unusually  rainy ;  in  several  instances  the  first  planting  was 
entirely  washed  out  and  had  to  be  done  over.  The  plan  of  let- 
ting out  the  lands  to  tenants  had  not  proved  successful ;  not  that 
the  tenants  were  unfaithful,  such  was  far  from  the  fact,  but 
in  order  to  bring  the  farms  up  to  a  plane  where  the  term 
"model"  might  be  even  remotely  applied,  very  different  agri- 
cultural methods  from  those  ordinarily  in  use  must  be  introduced 
and  consistently  followed.  The  lands  had  been  badly  worked. 
Draining,  clean  culture,  clover,  and  fallow  crops  were  necessary 
if  the  soil  w^as  to  be  sufficiently  improved  to  show  an  accomplish- 
ment distinctly  beyond  that  of  the  neighboring  farms.  To  do 
all  this  meant  that  the  university  must  have  more  help  and  help 
would  cost  money.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  discouragements  a  real 
beginning  was  made  during  the  year.  A  part  of  the  land  was 
kept  absolutely  clean  and  as  a  result  sixty-one  varieties  of  vege- 
tables, displayed  at  the  Champaign  county  fair,  received  as  a 
whole  a  complimentary  premium  besides  notice  on  specialties. 
They  were  not  placed  for  competition  as  it  w^as  considered  in- 
advisable for  the  university  to  enter  such  contests  with  private 
collections.  Periam  resigned  in  March  to  enter  upon  other  work, 
and  the  task  of  developing  the  university's  agricultural  proper- 
ties devolved  upon  Professor  Bliss  with  three  assistants ;  an  Eng- 
lishman, Thomas  Franks,  appointed  by  the  board  with  the  title 
of  gardener  to  the  university ;  Vickroy,  to  help  in  the  nurseries 
and  orchards,  and  Upstone,  to  help  on  the  farm ;  all  employed  by 
Professor  Bliss  under  authority  given  by  the  board. 

Like  Periam,  Bliss  found  his  task  appalling,  and  he,  too,  al- 
most went  down  in  despair  before  the  problem  of  the  main  stock 
farai.  The  former  owner  assured  him  that  it  was  because  it  was 
such  capital  ground  for  the  application  of  agricultural  science 
that  he  had  sold  it — it  had  reached  that  state  of  exhaustion  where 
it  no  further  could  be  expected  to  pay  until  considerable  money 
had  been  spent  upon  it.  "What  better  could  an  agricultural  col- 
lege ask  than  broad,  completely  exhausted  acres  that  required 


322  History  University  of  Illinois 

only  the  expenditure  of  unlimited  time,  money,  science  and  per- 
serverence  to  respond  nobly?  Bliss  after  one  year  of  grim,  hard 
work  was  able  to  see  success  ahead ;  a  long  time  ahead,  it  is  true, 
but  still  success.  Nor  was  agriculture  proper  his  only  burden. 
He  had  charge  of  the  execution  of  the  plans  of  the  committee 
on  horticulture  and  the  superintendence  of  the  farms,  literally 
the  work  of  three  men.  Therefore  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
board  in  1870,  Bliss  respectfully  and  wearily  asked  to  be  re- 
lived of  the  charge  of  the  horticultural  department  and  of  the 
active  superintendence  of  the  farms. 

Although  the  conduct  of  the  horticultural  department  had 
been  discouraging,  much  hard  work  had  produced  some  good  re- 
sults. An  orchard  of  2,193  trees  of  1000  varieties  had  been 
planted  and  about  600  apple  trees  one  to  three  years  old  had  been 
planted  in  the  nursery  for  the  purpose  of  filling  in  wet  places 
and  replacing  any  that  might  die.  Also  there  was  planted  in  the 
nursery  3,000  green  ash,  1000  white  elm,  1000  american  arbor 
vitae,  1000  balsam  fir,  1000  red  pine,  200  austrian  pine,  100 
scotch  pine,  a  number  of  varieties  of  pears,  cherry,  tulip  and 
sycamore,  400  soft  maple,  10,000  white  pine,  1000  white  spruce, 
1000  red  pine,  and  1000  hemlock,  besides  osage  hedges  which 
thrived  so  stoutly  all  of  them  are  not  grubbed  out  yet,  and 
shelter  belts  of  trees  set  twelve  feet  inside  the  hedge.  ^^  The 
ornamental  gardens  had  displayed  all  the  seasonal  blossoms  in 
the  orderly  stars  and  circles  that  were  the  delight  of  the  time. 
The  vegetable  gardens  had  produced  a  considerable  quantity  of 
vegetables,  that  had  been  marketed,  not  only  in  Champaign  and 
Urbana,  but  in  Chicago  as  well.  Small  fruits  were  growing,  a 
green  house  was  in  process  of  construction,  a  portion  of  the 
gardens  was  underdrained,  and  the  work  of  underdraining  the 
remainder  was  being  pushed. 

Mention  here  must  be  made  of  a  significant  series  of  lectures 
held  at  the  industrial  university  from  January  12-22,  1869.  In 
holding  the  series  the  university  was  following  the  precedent  of 
the  Yale  agricultural  lectures  of  1860.  The  lecturers  were:  Regent 
Gregory,  Professors  Stuart,  Baker,  and  Burrill,  H.  C.  Freeman 
of  the  state  geological  sui'i'cy.  Dr.  John  A.  Warder,  Dr.  L.  D. 

"76id.,  p.  64. 


First  Years  of  Work  823 

Morse,  editor  of  the  Joiirrwl  of  Agriculture,  M,  L.  Dunlap,  W.  C. 
Flagg,  Jonathan  Periam,  Captain  Edward  Snyder,  Dr.  E.  S. 
Hull  of  Alton  who  spoke  on  "orchard  fruits,"  George  Husman 
of  Hermann,  Mo.,  Samuel  Edwards  of  Lemoille,  Col.  N.  J. 
Cohnan,  editor  of  the  Rural  World,  Elmer  Baldwin,  A.  M.  Bar- 
land,  president  Illinois  sheep  growers  association,  John  H.  Tice, 
secretary  IMissouri  board  of  agriculture,  and  0.  B.  Galusha. 

The  lectures  were  received  enthusiastically  and  the  discus- 
sions were  earnest  and  lively.  The  attendance  was  small,  but 
those  who  were  present  expressed  deep  satisfaction  in  the  stimula- 
tion to  increased  effort  in  their  work  that  they  had  received.  It 
was  not  strange  that  the  attendance  was  not  large  for  the  two 
towns  were  not  equipped  to  care  for  many  strangers;  railroad 
travel  was  not  as  common  as  today  nor  as  pleasant ; ' '  good  roads ' ' 
had  not  yet  become  the  subject  of  a  movement  and  a  journey  of 
thirty  or  forty  miles  over  existing  roads,  and  that  in  the  dead  of 
winter,  was  a  hazardous  undertaking;  also,  it  was  known  that 
the  lectures  and  discussions  would  be  printed  in  the  annual  re- 
port of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  most  people  preferred  to  wait 
and  read  them  comfortably  by  their  own  firesides,  where  they 
could,  in  imagination,  take  part  in  discussions,  flooring  all  who 
disagreed  with  them  in  a  manner  far  more  satisfactory  than  they 
probably  could  have  done  in  the  flesh.  A  large  portion  of  the 
lectures  were  published  in  the  report  of  the  Missouri  board  of 
agriculture,  whose  secretary,  L.  D.  Morse,  made  this  comment: 
' '  Thus  was  inaugurated  a  new  and  probably  important  improve- 
ment." Morse  was  right  for  what  was  inagurated  was  a  fore- 
runner of  the  modern  "short  course"  with  attendance  running 
up  into  the  thousands. 

It  was  during  a  discussion  at  this  course  of  lectures  that 
Gregory  plunged  M.  L.  Dunlap,  who  was  beginning  to  entertain 
hopes  of  him,  into  despair.  "Altho, "  Dunlap  had  said  the 
month  before  the  discussion  in  question,  "the  practical  part  of 
Dr.  Gregory's  education  may  cost  us  eight  thousand  dollars,  it 
may  yet  be  worth  the  full  sum  to  us.  "^^  But  at  this  discussion 
Dunlap  repented  of  his  optimism  when  Gregory  arose  and  sug- 
gested, as  a  mere  theory  it  must  be  admitted,  that  as  the  human 

"Chicago  Tribune,  December  22,  1869. 


32 i  History  University  of  Illinois 

system,  if  frozen,  dies,  so  a  tree  frozen  to  tlie  heart  will  die  also. 
Over  this  Dunlap  sorrowed  publicly  in  the  Chicago  Tribune  of 
March  2,  1869.  He  said  plainly  that  what  was  needed  at  the 
university  Avas  not  a  theological  professor  "certainly  not  a  man 
who  thinks  that  because  a  man  dies  who  is  frozen  stiff  ergo  that 
a  tree  dies  that  is  frozen  to  the  heart,  but  what  is  needed  is  a  good 
business  man." 

Yet  at  the  second  annual  meeting  of  the  board  of  tinistees 
held  at  the  university  March  9,  1869,  Dr.  J.  M.  Gregory  was 
elected  regent.  The  name  of  Jonathan  B.  Turner  was  proposed 
and  he  received  two  votes  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  seeking  the  office.  A  friend  on  the  board  thought  Turner 
might  accept  the  position  if  it  were  offered;  and,  with  him  at 
the  head,  the  uneasiness  and  public  lack  of  confidence  in  the  uni- 
versity would  disappear.  But  the  majonty  of  the  board  had 
confidence  in  Gregory's  power  to  succeed  in  a  difficult  situation. 
Also  they  felt  that  his  two  years  experience  in  Illinois  as  the 
head  of  the  institution  was  too  valuable  to  lose,  that  he  was  a 
man  with  the  ability  to  grow  and  that  he  had  the  interest  of  in- 
dustrial education  at  heart.  In  his  journal  for  this  period  Greg- 
ory comments  thus  briefly  upon  the  course  of  events. 

"1869 — In  March  the  Trustees  at  their  meeting  re-elected 
me  Kegent  for  two  years,  the  legal  time.  In  May,  having  asked 
leave  of  absence  for  the  summer,  I  sailed  for  Europe  purposing 
to  spend  the  vacation  in  visiting  the  schools  of  Europe.  During 
the  summer  I  visited  England,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
Russia,  and  Belgium,  experiencing  great  pleasure  and  gaining 
much  useful  information.  I  returned  in  September  after  an  ab- 
sence of  about  four  months,  very  much  improved  in  health. ' ' 

During  the  summer  of  1869  an  expedition  through  Illinois, 
the  first  effort  of  the  kind  undertaken  by  the  university,  was  made 
for  the  purpose  of  survey  and  collection  in  the  department  of  na- 
tural history.  The  appropriation  of  three  hundred  dollars  for 
the  expedition  had  been  made  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  board 
in  1869,  and  the  expenditure  of  that  sum  was  placed  in  the  com- 
petent hands  of  Thomas  J.  Burrill,  who  with  five  or  six  students, 
was  thus  enabled  to  make  for  the  university  a  collection  of  plants, 
birds,  reptiles,  insects,  mammals,  a  number  of  fossils,  of  fresh 


First  Tears  of  Work  325 

water  shells,  and  of  minerals  together  with  some  specimens  of 
different  kinds  of  wood,  soils,  materials  of  manufacture,  and  of 
manufactured  articles. 

With  the  opening  of  the  university  year  in  1869  an  increase 
in  attendance  began.  Early  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  students  were  enrolled  which  by  winter  had 
increased  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven.  One  new  name  ap- 
pears in  the  list  of  professors  for  1869 — S.  W.  Robinson,  profes- 
sor of  mechanical  science,  and  three  new  names  appear  among 
the  instructors  of  lower  rank — James  Belangee,  teacher  of  archi- 
tectural and  mechanical  drawing,  H.  M.  Douglas,  assistant  in 
laboratory;  Alexander  Thompson,  C.  E.,  practical  mechanic  and 
foreman  of  machine  shops ;  and  as  a  non-resident  professor,  be- 
sides John  A  Warder  of  Cincinnati,  Professor  Sanborn  Tenny 
as  lecturer  on  zoology. 

A  significant  development  of  the  mechanical  department  be- 
gan in  1869  with  the  arrival  of  Robinson  from  Michigan  univer- 
sity who  was  little  short  of  a  genius  in  mechanics  and  nothing 
short  in  handling  boys.  His  work  was  practical  for  it  squared 
with  men's  needs.  With  the  help  of  an  assistant,  Alexander 
Thompson,  a  graduate  of  the  scientific  department  of  Michigan 
university  and  an  accomplished  draftsman  and  civil  engineer, 
he  devised  and  constructed  an  engine  instead  of  purchasing  one 
outright.  It  was  made  with  different  sets  of  valve  gears  which 
made  it  possible  to  exhibit  several  distinct  forms  of  the  steam 
engine  at  comparatively  small  expense.  The  mechanical  students 
helped,  both  in  the  actual  work  and  in  the  making  of  the  pat- 
terns. The  result  was  the  completion  of  a  fine  ten-horse  power 
engine  which  probably  had  as  much  human  satisfaction  wi'ought 
into  it  as  any  other  engine  in  the  world.  Robinson  was  adequate 
for  all  emergencies.  When  his  department  needed  more  room 
he  inspired  the  members  of  the  department  until  they  longed  to 
raise  the  roof  of  the  carpenter's  shop  and  add  a  second  story; 
thus  a  good  shop  was  secured  at  small  expense.  The  fame  of  the 
department  spread  and  the  students  who  came  proved  the  in- 
tense eagerness  that  existed  for  sound  instruction  along  prac- 
tical lines.  Carpenters,  cabinet  makers,  blacksmiths,  carriage 
makers,  house  painters,    coach  painters,    and  machinists    were 


326  History  University  of  Illinois 

among  the  students  enrolled.^''  One  master  mechanic  even  sold 
his  shop  and  presented  himself  as  a  student.  These  men,  who 
already  knew  their  trade,  were  a  vigorous  and  valuable  addition 
to  the  student  body.  Thus  was  organized  the  first  educational 
shop  work  in  any  American  university. 

The  university  was  beginning  to  attract  the  attention  of  men 
engaged  in  the  industries  and  allied  professions  out  in  the  state. 
Among  the  speakers  at  the  agricultural  lectures  and  discussions 
held  at  the  university  January  10  to  14,  1870,  was  a  veterinary 
surgeon  of  Quincy,  Illinois,  H.  J.  Detmers,  a  German,  trained  in 
the  severe  and  exact  methods  of  his  native  land.  He  outlined  a 
course  that  he  thought  would  be  advisable  for  the  industrial  uni- 
versity and  planned  a  stable  and  hospital.  Commenting  upon 
the  condition  of  veterinary  science  as  he  found  it  in  the  United 
States,  he  said :  ' '  The  veterinary  practice  is  with  few  exceptions 
in  the  hands  of  quacks,  horse  jockeys  and  ignorant  blacksmiths. 
Maltreatment  kills  in  this  country  more  valuable  animals  than 
die  by  disease."  For  several  years  following  Dr.  Detmers  was 
a  member  of  the  university  staff  as  lecturer  on  veterinary  science. 
It  happened  that  a  man  named  Whitney  was  present  who  had 
been  a  blacksmith  since  he  was  eleven  years  old.  Naturally  alert 
and  curious,  he  had  treasured  the  old  dried  bones  of  dead  horses 
and  studied  them.  He  found  that  he  could  perform  many  opera- 
tions while  shoeing  a  horse ;  for  instance,  in  the  case  of  a  quarter 
hoof ;  when  the  shell  of  the  hoof  was  thick  enough  he  bored  a  gim- 
let hole  each  side  of  it,  put  in  a  wire  and  tied  the  parts  together. 
Again  by  properly  shoeing  a  fine  horse  that  was  offered  for  sale 
at  a  fraction  of  his  value  because  of  a  lame  sore  foot,  he  was  able 
to  cure  the  lameness.  The  relation  of  such  experiences  in  the 
discussions  impressed  the  hearers  with  the  value  of  knowledge; 
forced  attention  upon  it  and  gave  to  the  work  of  the  masses  a  new 
dignity. 

In  the  winter  of  1870  instead  of  holding  a  single  series  of 
lectures  at  the  university,  three  were  held,  one  at  the  university, 
the  second  at  Centralia,  and  another  at  Rockford.  Apparently 
the  plan  was  not  considered  especially  adapted  to  the  situation 
at  that  time  for  it  was  not  continued  in  the  years  immediately 
following. 

"Third  annual  report  of  the  hoard  of  trustees,  p.  199. 


Aletiianai  Society  1871 


Gary 

Whitcoinb 

Audorson 

Columbia 

Campbell 

Blaisdell 

Douglas 

Cheever 

Kellogg 

Canine 

Stewart 

Lee 

Stewart 

Fillmore 

Baker 

Gregory 

Romine 

Folk 

Baker 

Hunt 

]\Ierriani 

Walker 

Coffeen 

Potter 

Chase 

Gregorv 

Whitcomb 

Detmers 

Steele 

Reynolds 

First  Years  of  Work  827 

In  order  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  studies  for  Avhich  the 
university  was  especially  established,  the  board  of  trustees  in 
March,  1869,  voted  that,  with  the  opening  of  the  academic  year 
in  September,  tuition  should  be  free  to  students  pursuing  work 
exclusively  in  the  agricultural,  polytechnic,  and  military  depart- 
ments.^^ As  for  the  military  during  the  first  two  years,  the 
students  were  drilled  in  the  manual  of  arms  and  in  the  evolutions 
of  the  company.  As  yet  there  was  no  drill  hall  but  in  1870  a  bill 
that  had  for  its  object  the  erection  of  such  a  building  a  year  later 
came  before  the  military  committee  of  the  board,  and  as  a  result 
the  legislature  appropriated  $25,000  for  a  shop  and  drill  hall. 

At  the  annual  meeting  held  March,  1870,  a  question  that 
recurred  as  surely  as  the  seasons  was  settled.  Women  had  been 
knocking  for  admission  at  the  doors  of  the  university  from  the 
first.  The  question  came  to  a  vote  in  the  board  in  1869,  but  a 
majority  of  the  trustees  were  not  ready  for  the  departure.  The 
knocking  was  stopped  in  the  only  way  possible — by  letting  the 
ladies  in.  Gregory,  as  early  as  1867,  had  emphatically  asserted 
his  recognition  of  the  right  of  women  to  equal  educational  privi- 
leges with  men.  He  had  found  that  when  women  were  admitted 
to  classes  with  men  they  equalled  or  excelled  them  in  scholarship 
and  he  was  in  favor  of  their  admission  Avhenever  the  state  should 
provide  "suitable  buildings  and  appliances  for  their  educa- 
tion at  the  University.  "1^  The  fact  that  he  was  not  in  favor  of  ad- 
mitting women  until  suitable  buildings  were  ready  for  their  re- 
ception, gave  rise  to  a  misunderstanding  which  traveled  widely. 
Gregory  was  opposed  to  the  admission  of  women,  was  asserted, 
and  this  was  often  used  against  him.  The  students  themselves,  ac- 
cording to  tradition  were  glad  to  have  their  sisters  share  their 
privileges.  It  is  related  that  a  number  of  students,  knowing  the 
subject  of  the  admission  of  women  was  to  be  brought  up  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  board,  posted  themselves  above  the  room  at  a  convenient 
stove  pipe  hole  to  hear  the  outcome,  and  were  so  delighted  when 
the  decision  was  made  that  they  forgot  quiet  is  best  for  eaves- 
droppers and  burst  into  applause. 


"Second  annmil  report  of  the  board  of  trustees,  p.  88. 
*'^Trans<ictions  Illinois  horticultural  society,  1867,  pp.  85-86. 


328  History  University  of  Illinois 

It  was  evident  b}'  1870  that  the  university  was  growing  in 
power  and  strength.  Criticism  had  helped  it  and  there  was 
more  of  that  kind  of  aid  immediately  ahead.  The  agriculturists 
and  other  sincere  educators  of  the  state,  rather  out  of  touch  with 
the  progress  of  affairs  at  the  university,  had  consigned  it  to 
the  limbo  of  a  one  horse  classical  institution,  with — most  damn- 
ing curse  of  all ! — a  preacher  at  the  head,  and  mourned  over  it 
as  lost  to  hope.  It  is  very  probable  that  it  was  through  the  ef- 
forts of  these  men  that  in  March,  1869,  the  legislature  passed 
condemnatory  resolutions  in  regard  to  the  industrial  university. 
These  resolutions  were  introduced  in  the  house,  March  19,  1869, 
by  Mr.  Parker  of  the  39th  district,  and  were  passed  by  a  vote 
of  49  to  12.    They  were  as  follows : 

^'Whereas  complaints  are  made  in  every  quarter  of  the  state 
that  the  Illinois  Industrial  University,  located  at  Urbana,  is  be- 
ing diverted  in  its  management  from  the  'leading  objects'  for 
which  said  institution  was  endowed  and  established,  and  is  prac- 
tically conducted  on  the  basis  of  an  ordinary  academic  and  classic 
school,  and  whereas,  it  is  deemed  advisable  for  this  General  As- 
sembly to  give  expression  to  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  people 
of  the  State  as  to  the  objects  and  management  of  said  institution ; 
therefore  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  has  for 
its  leading  and  essential  objects  the  teaching  of  such  branches  of 
learning  as  relate  to  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  the  mechanic 
arts,  and  the  consequent  promotion  of  the  industrial  classes  in 
the  various  pursuits  of  life  by  imparting  to  them  a  liberal  and 
practical  education. 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  trustees  to 
adopt  and  enforce  such  rules  and  regulations  for  the  conduct 
and  management  of  said  institution  as  will  peculiarly  adapt  to 
the  educational  wants  of  students  who  are  looking  forward  to 
the  adoption  of  farming  or  mechanics  as  their  chosen  avocation 
in  life."i« 

The  painful  effect  of  such  action  upon  those  immediately 
concerned  with  the  conduct  of  the  institution  was  greatly  less- 

^^Ho'use  Journal,  State  of  Illinois,  111:329,    (1869).     Scmte  Journal, 
II;  718,  (1869). 


First  Years  of  Work  829 

ened  by  the  fact  that  this  legislature  had  also  voted  the  first  ap- 
propriations for  the  university.  Undoubtedly,  however,  the  reso- 
lutions bore  fruit  for  in  1870  the  constitutional  convention  of 
Illinois  was  asked  to  include  a  provision  for  a  university  m  the 
new  constitution;  one  that  should  be,  in  the  language  of  Jesse 
Fell,  "what  has  not  been  fully  organized  upon  this  continent, 
a  university  in  fact,  a  grand  and  comprehensive  school,  equal  in 
its  scope  and  power  of  development  to  our  present  and  future 
greatness,  and  in  harmony  with  the  advancing  civilization  of 
the  age.  "^^  Among  the  men  at  the  head  of  the  movement  were 
Jonathan  B.  Turner  and  Jesse  W.  Fell,  each  of  whom  had  striven 
so  valiantly  to  obtain  the  location  of  the  industrial  university 
for  his  own  county,  but  who  had  ever  been  friendly  and  in  entire 
accord  upon  the  leading  features  of  education.  One  idea  now 
advanced  was  to  establish  a  great  university  with  headquarters 
at  Chicago,  perhaps,  and  affiliated  institutions  throughout  the 
state.  For  this  Jesse  Fell  had  pledged  $100,000  and  found  six 
others  willing  to  do  the  same.  John  Ebcrhart  of  Chicago 
pledged  $100,000  and  found  two  others  willing  to  do  likewise. 
This  alone  meant  an  endowment  of  one  million  dollars.^  ^  In  a 
paper  prepared  by  Turner  and  presented  to  the  constitutional 
convention,  he  suggested  the  incorporation  in  the  fundamental 
law  of  a  provision  for  the  establishment  of  a  university  of  the 
highest  grade,  adequately  endowed  to  do  work  of  the  most  fin- 
ished order.  Whether  the  endowments  proposed  should  be  con- 
ferred on  any  institution  existing  or  whether  some  entirely  new 
institute  should  be  endowed  for  the  purpose,  Avas  not  at  that  time 
to  be  determined.  It  was  neither  desired  nor  expected  that  every 
state  should  support  a  university  of  the  magnitude  proposed. 
Turner  suggested  one  for  the  Pacific  slope  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  mining  interests ;  a  second  under  the  cotton  and 
planting  interests  of  the  south ;  a  third  under  the  manufacturing 
interests  of  the  east ;  and  a  fourth  under  the  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  the  Avest.  He  urged  that  there  were  a  sufficient  number  of 
colleges  and  universities  of  ordinary  character.  The  one  pro- 
posed ' '  should  be  such  a  one  as  shall  tower  above  them  all ;  one 

^'Memorial  to  Constitutional  Convention,  January  31,  1870. 
"Fell  Memorial,  transcripts  at  the  University  of  Illinois. 


330  History  University  of  Illinois 

that  shall  be  so  endowed  and  so  planned  that  it  can  command 
the  veiy  highest  order  of  talent,  and  teach  all  the  branches  of 
science  and  every  useful  knowledge.  For  a  beginning  and  a 
permanent  support  it  was  suggested  that  a  certain  per  cent  of 
the  revenue  derived  from  the  Illinois  central  railroad  should  be 
devoted  to  its  support  and  maintenance. 

He  went  on  to  explain  that  both  the  normal  school  and  the 
industrial  university  would  be  parts  of  the  proposed  larger  in- 
stitution. His  disappointment  in  the  industrial  university  crops 
out:  "It  is  a  certainty,"  he  said,  "that  the  Industrial  Univer- 
sity cannot  under  its  present  management  and  in  the  direction 
in  w^hich  it  has  been  conducted,  fulfill  all  the  grand  hopes  and 
expectations  that  were  incited  at  its  conception  and  inaugura- 
tion."  He  was  sure  that  it  would  confound  any  man  to  tell 
Avherein  the  industrial  university  differed  from  or  excelled  the 
ordinary  college,  but,  Turner  finally  averred,  "as  a  coordinate 
branch  of  the  great  University,  where  should  be  gathered  the 
finest  intellects  in  the  various  departments  of  instruction,  where 
there  shall  be  abundant  apparatus  and  cabinets,  and  where 
narrow  minds  shall  not  rule,  and  bigotry  find  no  home,  its  grand 
scope,  end,  and  aim  may  be  attained.  "^^ 

Jesse  M,  Fell  also  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  convention 
the  last  day  of  January,  1870,  as  a  representative  of  the  Illinois 
state  teachers'  association.  He  urged  the  establishment  of  a 
university  which  should  be  in  fact  a  "universal  school"  where 
all  branches  of  learning  and  the  professions  should  be  taught. 
Anything  that  fell  short  of  this  large  conception  "at  least  in 
its  scope  and  constitution  is  alike  unworthy  of  us  as  u  people  and 
of  the  age  in  which  it  is  our  privilege  to  live."^'^  He  suggested 
that  such  a  university  be  supported  by  setting  aside  the  one- 
tenth  part  of  the  two  mill  tax  but  not  until  after  the  existing 
state  debt  w^as  extinguished.  Fell  gave  freely  of  his  time  and 
enthusiasm  in  the  attempt  to  bring  the  proposed  institution  into 
realit}',  but  the  plan  w^as  not  incorporated  in  the  new  constitu- 
tion. Oppressing  the  future  with  a  financial  burden  seemed 
manifestly  unjust  to  certain  members  of  the  convention;  other 

""Prairie  Farmer,  January  8,  1870. 

'^Life  of  Jesse  Fell,  p.  80,  Frances  Morehouse. 


First  Years  of  Work  331 

members  who  it  was  thought  would  be  ardent  in  urging  the  uni- 
versity, grew  cold  at  the  time  of  the  test.  The  very  act  of  giving 
expression,  however,  to  what  would  mean  satisfaction  in  a  pro- 
posed educational  institution,  centered  attention  upon  causes  of 
dissatisfaction  in  the  institutions  existing. 

When  the  northern  Illinois  horticultural  society  met  in 
Dixon,  January  27,  1870,  the  industrial  university  was  the  sub- 
ject of  thorough  discussion  and  thorough  disapproval.  It  was, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  gentlemen  discussing,  a  pitiful  failure 
with  a  preacher  at  the  head.  The  follo^ving  resolutions  offered  bj^ 
Smiley  Shepherd  expressed  their  sentiments : 

''WJiereas,  By  an  act  of  Congress,  a  fund  for  an  endowment 
of  institutions  in  each  State  has  been  granted  for  teaching,  as  its 
leading  objects  the  sciences  relating  to  'agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts,'  v/ithout  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical 
studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  for  the  advancement  and 
elevation  of  the  laboring  classes ;  and 

''Whereas,  In  our  State  Institution  organized  under  and  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  said  endowment,  the  Trustees 
do,  by  their  published  curriculum,  give  each  student  the  right 
to  decide  the  course  of  study  to  be  pursued,  irrespective  of  the 
declared  design  of  the  endowment. 

''Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  society  that  any  and  all 
teachings  in  said  institution  that  supersedes  or  comes  in  competi- 
tion with  the  declared  leading  design  of  such  grant  should  be 
ruled  contraband,  and  be  disallowed  at  all  times  in  such  school, 

"Resolved,  Further,  as  the  sense  of  this  Society  that  it  is 
imperatively  necessaiy  for  the  preservation  of  the  funds  to 
the  leading  design  of  the  grant  that  the  charter  of  our  State  in- 
stitution should  be  so  amended  as  to  confine  its  teaching  to  agri- 
culture and  the  mechanic  arts  until  the  pupil  has  taken  a  full 
course  in  them,  and  then  if  so  desiring,  may  have  such  classical 
and  literary  instructions  as  the  institution  may  be  able  to  afford. 

"Resolved,  furtlier.  That  the  exclusion  of  the  female  sex 
from  a  full  participation  in  the  advantages  of  such  education  in 
our  agricultural  schools  as  they  should  be  able  to  give,  is  a  fla- 
grant wrong  to  both  male  and  female,  and  ought  not  to  be 
tolerated. 


332  History  University  of  Illinois 

"Resolved,  That  this  society  earnestly  ask  a  representative 
convention  from  all  the  county  societies,  agricultural,  mechanical 
and  horticultural,  to  take  into  consideration  the  present  state 
and  future  prospects  of  our  Industrial  Institution,  and  to  make 
such  indications  of  their  wishes  as  will  be  a  sure  guide  in  at- 
tempting their  ref onnation.  "^^ 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  call  a  convention  as  recom- 
mended in  the  resolutions.  This  it  was  that  led  to  the  Bloom- 
ington  convention  of  1870,  one  of  the  most  significant  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  agricultural  college  conventions.  Here  it 
was  that  the  bitter  unbelief  which  appeared  to  cheek  affairs  every 
time  they  started  to  run  smoothly,  was  forever  dispelled. 

Considering  the  Dixon  resolutions  from  the  standpoint  of 
simple  fairness,  it  must  be  conceded  that  they  showed  poor  com- 
prehensions of  the  policies  of  the  university.  As  for  allowing 
the  student  the  right  to  choose  the  studies  he  would  pursue,  it 
was  no  more  than  the  fundamental  law  implied  in  the  clause 
"without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies."  The 
faculty  of  1869-1870,  as  a  glance  at  the  catalog  reveals,  was  not 
largely  made  up  of  classicists  but  of  men  w^ho  were  teaching  the 
practical  branches:  Bliss  in  agriculture;  Stuart,  in  chemistry; 
Shattuck  in  mathematics  and  engineering;  Burrill  in  natural 
history;  Robinson  in  mechanics;  Belangee  in  mechanical  draw- 
ing; Dr.  Warder  in  horticulture;  Snyder  in  bookkeeping,  mili- 
tary tactics,  and  drawing ;  Franks  as  florist ;  and  Vickroy  as  gar- 
dener and  orchardist.  This  left  only  Professor  Baker,  who 
taught  English;  his  assistant,  Douglas,  who  taught  Latin  and 
French;  and  Dr.  Gregory,  who  filled  in  wherever  occasion  de- 
manded— now  teaching  a  class  in  history,  or  in  physiology, 
mathematics,  French,  agriculture,  or  Latin.  The  men  were  able, 
earnest,  enthusiastic,  and,  as  Dr.  Gregory  once  pointed  out,  had 
come  up  from  a  youth  of  hard  labor  with  the  habits  learned  by 
labor.22 

The  truth  is  that  at  this  period  what  was  most  needed  for 
the  welfare  of  the  institution  was  that  the  agriculturists  and 
sharp  critics  of  the  university's  policies  should  make  an  honest 

'^Prairie  Farmer,  February  5,  1870. 

'"Second  annual  report  of  the  board  of  trustees,  p.  63, 


First  Years  of  Work  333 

inspection.  Complying  with  the  Dixon  resolutions  of  the  north- 
ern Illinois  horticultural  society,  a  convention  was  called,  to  be 
held  at  the  court  house  in  Bloomington  on  Wednesday,  March  2, 
1870,  ''to  take  into  consideration  the  original  intention,  the  pres- 
ent state,  and  future  prospects  of  the  Industrial  University,  and 
to  express  the  opinion  of  the  industrial  classes  in  regard  to  re- 
forms ('if  any'  being  generously  placed  in  brackets)  in  its  man- 
agement as  may  be  deemed  proper. ' '  The  different  agricultural, 
horticultural,  and  mechanical  societies  of  the  state  were  asked 
to  send  six  delegates  from  each  county  to  the  convention,  and  in- 
dividuals interested  in  the  subject  were  invited  to  attend.  The 
proclamation  was  signed  by  Smiley  Shepherd,  S.  J.  Davis, 
Arthur  Bryant,  Lewis  Ellsworth,  Jonathan  B.  Turner,  and  was 
dated  February  16,  1870. 

Shortly  before  the  meeting  of  the  convention  the  students 
of  the  industrial  university,  in  a  set  of  vigorous  resolutions  sent 
generally  to  the  press  of  the  state,  expressed  their  confidence  in 
the  university.  Two  of  the  dozen  or  more  sections  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

''Resolved,  That  the  action  of  the  committee  (appointed  at 
Dixon)  calling  the  Convention  to  meet  at  Bloomington,  a  locality 
interested  in  the  establishment  of  a  rival  university,  instead  of 
holding  it  at  the  institution  under  consideration,  was  unfair,  and 
shows  a  spirit  little  calculated  for  an  unprejudiced  investiga- 
tion. 

"Resolved,  That  we  invite  the  opponents  of  the  present 
course  of  the  institution  to  visit  us  at  the  University  and  investi- 
gate its  condition  and  prosperity. ' ' 

Nor  was  this  the  only  public  defence  of  the  university.  A 
spirited  article  signed  "A  Professor"  appeared  in  the  Cliicogo 
Tribune  of  Feb.  18,  1870,  and  was  in  reply  to  ' '  Rural ' '  who  de- 
voted an  entire  article  in  that  paper  on  Feb.  2,  1870,  to  adverse 
criticism  of  the  action  of  those  conducting  the  university.  ' '  The 
Professor ' '  recited  convincingly  some  of  the  difficulties  attendant 
upon  launching  such  an  enterprise  as  the  industrial  university. 
For  instance,  criticism  had  been  made  because  instruction  in  me- 
chanics had  not  been  given  from  the  first.    The  fact  was  that  a 


334  History  Univcrsiiii  of  Illinois 

man  eoiild  not  be  found  to  give  such  instruction — it  was  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  find  one  qualified  both  theoretically  and  prac- 
tically. One  man  had  been  under  appointment  for  over  a  year, 
and  then  finally  had  declined  to  come.  The  newness  of  the  enter- 
prise, the  fact  that  it  was  made  the  subject  of  constant  and  bitter 
a+tack,  caused  men  at  all  suitably  located  to  hesitate  before  attach- 
ing themselves  to  it.  ''Rural"  had  placed  at  least  a  part  of 
the  blame  for  the  alleged  failure  of  the  university  upon  the 
heads  of  the  trustees,  asserting  that  failure  was  foreordained 
when  a  majority  of  the  trustees  were  clergymen,  schoolmasters, 
lawyers,  doctors,  and  politicians.  To  this  "A  Professor"  re- 
torted :  "By  actual  count  full  two-thirds  of  the  present  members 
of  the  board  are  engaged  either  in  farming  or  horticulture." 
"Rural"  spoke  of  the  sweeping  condemnation  of  the  institution 
issued  by  the  last  legislature.  "A  Professor"  replied  that  it  was 
easy  to  endure  as  it  amounted  to  $60,000.  Other  objections  made 
by  "Rural"  were  taken  up  and  answered. 

The  Bloomington  convention  was  held  as  planned  but  it 
was  poorly  attended.  A  delegation  of  ten  or  twelve  from  the  uni- 
versity and  two  toAvns,  was  made  to  feel  decidedly  unwelcome. 
The  Cliampaign  County  Gazette  of  March,  1870,  stated  that  the 
attendance  was  absurdly  small  for  the  great  work  undertaken 
— the  expression  of  the  wishes  and  views  of  the  industrial  classes 
on  the  questions  of  industrial  education.  A  count  proved  that 
there  were  only  twenty-eight  persons  present  when  the  meeting 
opened,  which  was  increased  to  thirty-five  according  to  the  same 
paper,  "by  going  out  into  by-ways  and  corners  and  hauling  in 
coHivcnicnt  strangers  who  were  willing  to  be  hastily  branded  as 
delegates."  As  soon  as  he  could,  Gregory  rose  and  invited  the 
entire  body  to  adjourn  to  the  university,  that  they  might  see 
for  themselves  just  what  was  being  done  there.  He  urged  it 
upon  them ;  he  insisted,  even  offering  them  free  transportation 
over  the  new  I.  B.  &  W.  railroad.  It  was  an  invitation  dif^cult 
to  decline  and  "evidently  disconcerted  the  convention,  till 
Turner  suggested  that  while  it  would  be  improper  to  attempt  to 
examine  into  the  administration  at  such  a  distance,  it  was  quite 
possible  for  them  to  look  into  the  organization." 

In  the  evening  al)out  fifty  people  assembled  and  a  committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  reported  the  following  resolutions: 


Early  Ah.mxi  Who  Havk  Dkvotkd  Thkik  Livks  to  the 
rxiviiKsiTv  (w  Illinois 


Charles  Wesley  Rolfo  of  the  class  of 
1872  eiitereil  the  Illinois  Imlustrial  Uui- 
versity  in  September,  ISfiS.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Philomathean  society. 
From  1872-1873  he  served  as  an  assistant 
in  natural  history;  from  1881  to  1917 
he  was  connecteil  with  the  university  as 
professor  of  Geolojiy  ami  most  of  the 
porioil  as  head  of  the  department.  He 
has  rendered  special  service  in  orijjinating 
and  organizing  the  school  of  ceramics  ami 
in  making  a  contour  map  of  Illinois — of 
each  county  in  the  state.  In  1917  he  was 
made  professor  of  geology  emeritus. 


Nathan  Clifford  Eicker  of  the  class  of 
1S72  entered  the  University  in  1870.  He 
was  second  president  of  the  college  gov- 
ernment. The  first  two  terms  of  1872- 
1873  he  was  in  charge  of  the  department 
of  architecture  and  the  summer  term  of 
1873  he  spent  in  study  in  Berlin,  Ger- 
many. From  that  time  until  the  present 
he  has  been  connected  with  the  University 
as  instructor,  professor  and  dean.  His 
contributions  to  the  science  of  his  pro- 
fession have  been  many.  He  is,  too,  the 
architect  of  the  law  building,  the  (old) 
armory,  and  the  natural  history  hall.  He 
has  been  made  professor  emeritus. 


Ira  Osborn  Baker  of  the  class  of  1874 
entered  the  University  in  1870.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Adeli)hic  society.  Im- 
mediately upon  graduation  he  became  an 
assistant  in  Civil  Engineering  and  physics 
at  the  University.  He  advanced  rapidly 
through  the  various  ranks,  instructor,  as- 
sistant-professor, and  in  1880  was  ma<le 
|)rofessor  of  civil  engineering.  He,  too, 
has  contributed  much  to  the  science  of 
his  professioTi  and  though  made  professor 
emeritus  he  is  still  active  in  many  duties 
at  the  University. 


First  Years  of  Work  335 

^'Resolved,  1.  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  convention,  judg- 
ing from  the  annual  report  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Illinois  Indus- 
trial University,  that  the  course  of  studies  of  the  University  is 
not  in  accordance  with  the  design  of  the  originators  of  the 
scheme  of  industrial  education  in  the  United  States,  or  with  the 
act  of  Congress,  or  with  the  charter  establishing  the  institution. 

"2.  That  in  our  opinion  the  ancient  languages  should  not 
be  made  prominent  or  taught  as  an  independent  course  in  the 
Industrial  University,  but  only  in  connection  with  an  agricul- 
tural and  mechanical  education. 

"3.  That  we  claim  the  right,  as  citizens  of  Illinois,  to  freely 
criticise  the  doings  of  our  State  Institutions,  so  far  as  the  same 
are  made  public  in  their  published  reports. 

"4.  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by  the  Chair, 
in  compliance  with  the  invitation  of  the  Regent  of  the  Industrial 
University,  to  examine  into  the  management  of  the  same,  and 
make  such  report  as  circumstances  shall  seem  to  justify  to  a 
future  meeting,  to  be  called  by  said  committee.  "^^ 

Turner,  called  upon  for  an  expression,  said  that  he  had 
tried  "to  secure  for  Illinois  a  great  Industrial  University,  such 
as  Mr.  Cornell  had  secured  for  New  York.  He  then  took  up  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  University  and  read  from  its  course,  '  First, 
we  find  here  Chemistry, '  said  he,  'this  you  wnll  say  is  right.  Next 
comes  Natural  History.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  Then  follows 
Agriculture,  Mechanical  Philosophy,  Mathematics,  Civil  Engi- 
neering, etc.,  and  this  you  will  say  is  right.  And  what  comes 
last?  The  Languages,  just  as  they  should.  All  this  is  much 
better  than  the  old  system,  and  this  institution  is  far  in  advance 
of  others  in  those  particulars.'  "  The  criticism  he  made  then 
was  that  the  student  must  be  ground  through  a  four  years' 
course  while  he  thought  "a  young  man  ought  to  be  permitted 
to  take  what  he  pleases — to  take  chemistry  alone,  if  he  wishes  it, 
for  three  months." 

Had  Turner  given  the  catalog  a  thorough  reading  he  would 
have  found  that  the  very  elasticity  for  which  he  pled  was  ac- 
corded. Under  the  heading,  "Departments  of  Study"  in  the 
first  catalog  is  found  this  paragraph:  "It  is  expected  that  each 
^Champaign  County  Gazette,  March      ,  1870. 


336  History  Univcniity  of  Illinois 

student  will  pursue  studies  in  three  or  more  departments  at  the 
same  time,  in  order  to  fully  employ  his  time.  But,  on  special  re- 
quest, he  may  give  his  Avhole  time  to  any  one  department,  if  the 
studies  and  practice  in  that  department  will  afford  him  full  em- 
ployment. ' ' 

Turner  acknowledged,  however,  that  the  industrial  university 
had  worked  its  way  against  disadvantages.  ' '  If  the  State  would 
give  them  $500,000  to  begin  with,  and  $100,000  a  year  through 
all  coming  time,  then  we  might  expect  great  things  of  them." 
He  then  went  on  to  state  his  idea  of  what  such  an  institution  as 
the  industrial  university  might  become.  This  greatly  impressed 
his  audience,  as  the  following  from  the  Gazette's  account  of  the 
convention  shows : 

"We  could  have  wished  the  whole  state  present  to  hear 
his  eloquent  exposition  of  the  sublime  scope  of  the  true  Industrial 
University.  Without  knowing  it,  (for  he  had  evidently  misread 
the  report)  he  made  a  most  effective  defense  of  the  i  lans  of  the 
Trustees,  and  we  count  confidently  on  Professor  Turner,  as  a 
firm  supporter  of  those  plans  when  he  shall  give  them  more 
careful  attention. ' ' 

Nor  was  the  writer  mistaken  in  his  confident  expectation  as 
will  appear  later.  William  M.  Baker  of  the  university  faculty 
made  a  statement  of  what  the  university  was  doing,  and  showed 
that  it  was  fulfilling  the  law,  according  to  his  interpretation  at 
least.  Whereupon  the  resolutions  were  passed  with  but  little 
show  of  interest.  Turner  obtained  the  passage  of  a  resolution 
declaring  it  to  be  the  unanimous  wish  that  the  constitutional 
convention  should  take  such  action  as  the  honor  of  the  state 
demanded  in  behalf  of  university  education.  Another  member 
moved  that  the  convention  ask  the  legislature  to  make  liberal 
appropriations  to  the  industrial  university  and  the  convention 
broke  up  in  the  midst  of  good  feeling. 

It  was  good  feeling  that  became  more  pronounced  w^hen  the 
committee  appointed  at  the  convention  visited  the  university 
and  made  an  honest  investigation.  And  best  of  all  Turner  was 
completely  won  over  to  the  new  institution  of  which  he  had  hoped 
so  much.  The  impossible  had  happened — the  preacher  at  the 
head  of  the  university  had  made  good  and  the  Grand  Old  Man 


First  Years  of  Work  337 

in  the  cause  of  industrial  education  was  the  first  to  rejoice  in 
the  fact  that  he  himself  had  been  mistaken. 

The  visit  of  the  committee  was  made  September  20  and  21, 
1870.  They  found  in  attendance  194  men  and  14  women  students 
divided  into  classes  as  follows ;  each  student  carrying  three  or 
more  studies:  agriculture  and  horticulture  50,  mechanics  and 
civil  engineering  54,  chemistry  65,  comparative  anatomy  15, 
mathematics  138,  military  tactics  23,  commercial  50,  English  lit- 
erature etc.  92,  German  63,  French  27,  Latin  20,  Greek  0,  which 
was  precisely  the  number  the  committee  was  pleased  to  find  pur- 
suing that  ancient  and  time  honored  means  of  culture.  The 
farms,  gardens,  and  machinery  were  found  to  be,  like  patients 
recovering  from  small  pox,  doing  as  well  as  could  be  expected. 
The  investigations  by  this  committee  cleared  up  the  misunder- 
standing that  had  prevailed,  and  laid  to  rest  the  distrust  that  had 
so  hampered  the  development  of  the  university.  All  parties  now 
could  unite  in  pronouncing  the  first  years  of  foundation  building 
successful.  Upon  these  foundations  which  had  been  well  laid  in 
spite  of  and  because  of  keen  criticism,  there  now  could  be  reared 
in  the  course  of  the  next  half  ccntuiy,  a  structure  of  the  highest 
significance  and  truth. 


338 


History  University  of  Illinois 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  FIRST  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 

In  pursuance  of  the  law  creating  the  university,  Richard  J. 
Oglesby,  Governor  of  Illinois,  on  March  1,  1867,  appointed  the 
following  to  the  first  board  of  trustees. 


Name 
Allen,  Lemuel 
Blackburn,  Alexander 
Bateman,  Newton,  LL.D. 
Brayman,  Mason 
Brown,  A.  M. 
Brown,  E.  L. 
Burchard,  Horatio  C. 
Burroughs,  J.  C. 
Cobb,  Emery 
Cunningham,  J.  O. 
Dunlap,  M.  L. 
Edwards,  Samuel 
Flagg,  Willard  C. 
Galusha,  O.  B. 
Goltra,  M.  C. 
Hammond,  David  S. 
Harding,  Georgo 
Hayes,  S.  S. 
Hungate,  J.  P. 
Johnson,  John  S. 
Lawrence,  Luther 
Mahan,  Isaac  S. 
McConnell,  A.  B. 
McMurray,  L,  B. 
Pickrell,  J.  H  . 
PuUen,  Burden 
Quick,  Thomas 
Scroggs,  J.  W. 
Topping,  Charles  H. 
Van  Osdell,  John  M, 
The  Governor 
The  Regent 


District 
8th  Congressional 
9th  Congressional 
Ex  officio 

2nd  Grand  Judicial 
13th  Congressional 
3d  Grand  Judicial 
5th  Congressional 
3d  Grand  Judicial 
3d  Grand  Judicial 
2nd  Grand  Judicial 
7th  Congressional 
5th  Congressional 
12th  Congressional 
6th  Congressional 
10th  Congressional 
1st  Congressional 
2d  Grand  Judicial 
3d  Grand  Judicial 
11th  Congressional 
4th  Congressional 
2d  Congressional 
1st  Grand  Judicial 
Ex  officio 

1st  Grand  Judicial 
2d  Grand  Judicial 
1st  Grand  Judicial 
1st  Grand  Judicial 
2d  Grand  Judicial 
1st  Grand  Judicial 
3d  Grand  Judicial 
Ex  officio 
Ex  officio 


Post  Office 
Pekin 
Macomb 
Springfield 
Springfield 
Villa  Ridge 
Chicago 
Freeport 
Chicago 
Kankakee  City 
Urbana 
Champaign 
Lamoille 
Alton 
Morris 
Jacksonville 
Chicago 
Paris 
Chicago 
Louisville 
Warsaw 
B'elvidere 
Centralia 
Springfield 
Effingham 
Harristown 
Centralis 
Irvington 
Champaign 
Makanda 
Chicago 
Springfield 
University 


County 

Tazewell 

McDonough 

Sangamon 

Sangamon 

Pulaski 

Cook 

vStephcnson 

Cook 

Kankakee 

Champaign 

Champaign 

Bureau 

Madison 

Grundy 

Morgan 

Cook 

Edgar 

Cook 

Clay 

Hancock 

Boone 

Marion 

Sangamon 

Effingham 

Macon 

Clinton 

Washington 

Champaign 

Jackson 

Cook 

Sangamon 

Champaign 


Lemuel  Allen  (b.  1818— d.  1905)  who  served  as  trustee  from 
1867-1871  always  took  an  active  part  in  the  educational  and 
religious  life  of  his  community.    He  served  Tazewell  county  for 


Members  of  First  Board  of  Trustees 
Luther  Lawrexce  Isaac  Mahax  Emory  Cobb 

XEWTOX    BaTEMAX  RK  hard    Otil.ESBY 

LUTHER  W.  Lawrexce       Moore  C.  Goi.tra         Alexaxder  Blackbi-rx 


The  First  Board  of  Trustees  339 

ten  years  as  superintendent  of  schools ;  he  taught  in  Springfield, 
Decatur  and  Pekin;  he  helped  in  organizing  the  first  Baptist 
church  in  Decatur  and  also  in  Pekin.  He  was  alert,  aggressive, 
and  ever  alive  to  the  educational  needs  of  his  community  and 
time. 

Newton  Bateman,  LL.D.  (1822-1897)  was  trustee  ex  officio 
from  1867-1873.  Bateman  was  in  his  time  one  of  the  noteworthy 
figures  in  the  state,  being  a  man  of  extraordinary  personality  as 
well  as  unusual  mental  gifts.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Illinois 
college  at  Jacksonville.  He  entered  upon  his  life  work  as  a 
teacher  by  accepting  the  principalship  of  an  English  and  classical 
school  in  St.  Louis ;  later  he  was  professor  of  mathematics  in  St. 
Charles  college,  St.  Charles,  Missouri.  He  left  Missouri  to  re- 
turn to  Jacksonville  where  he  seiwed  as  principal  of  the  main 
public  school,  county  superintendent  of  schools  of  Jackson  coun- 
ty, and  principal  of  Jacksonville  female  academy.  In  1858  he 
was  elected  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction.  By  suc- 
cessive re-elections  he  continued  in  this  office  fourteen  years, 
serving  continuously  from  1859  to  1875  except  for  two  yeara 
(1863-1865)  when  he  was  refused  in  his  campaign  for  re-election. 
These  years  were  for  Bateman  joyous  with  production.  He 
worked  earnestly  and  successfully  to  develop  the  efficiency  of 
the  common  school  system.  He  also  prepared  some  seven  volumes 
of  biennial  reports,  portions  of  which  have  been  republished  in 
five  different  European  languages,  besides  a  volume  of  ''Common 
school  decisions,"  originally  published  by  authority  of  the  gen- 
eral assembl.y.  This  volume  has  been  recognized  by  the  courts. 
In  addition  to  his  official  duties  Bateman,  during  a  part  of  this 
period,  served  as  editor  of  "The  Illinois  teacher"  and  he  was 
one  of  a  committee  of  three  which  prepared  the  bill  adopted  by 
congress  creating  the  national  bureau  of  education.  A  few 
months  after  his  retirement  from  the  state  superintendency  in 
1875,  Bateman  accepted  the  presidency  of  Knox  College  in  Gales- 
burg  Avhere  he  remained  until  1893.  Naturally  he  was  a  most 
useful  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  new  university. 
He  served  upon  the  committee  on  course  of  study  and  library 
and  cabinets. 

Alexander  Blackburn  (1805-1897)  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  from  1867-1873.    He  was  a  farmer  and  teacher 


340  History  University  of  Illinois 

and  understood,  through  being  one  of  them,  the  educational 
needs  of  the  sons  of  the  soil. 

Mason  Brayman  (1813-1895)  sei^ved  as  trustee  from  1867- 
1873.  Brayman,  a  scholar  among  la^v5^ers,  had  long  held  a  high 
position  in  his  profession.  At  one  time,  some  years  before  this 
date,  having  been  appointed  to  revise  the  statutes  of  the  state, 
his  work  was  eminently  satisfactory  to  courts  and  lawyers,  and 
filled  an  important  place  in  the  judicial  affairs  of  the  state.  As 
a  soldier  he  had  served  the  Union  cause  in  a  manner  that  won 
the  good  opinion  of  all.  The  scholarly  attainments  of  General 
Brayman  marked  him  as  one  well  chosen  to  further  the  new  edu- 
cational movement.  General  Brayman  served  on  the  committee 
on  faculty  and  course  of  study  and  military  department. 

Horatio  C.  Burchard,  (1825-1908)  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867  to  1870,  was  an  eminent  lawyer  of  Freeport.  He  had 
much  experience  in  state  affairs  as  a  member  of  the  general 
assembly  and  a  large  acquaintance  with  the  leading  men  who 
were  then  directing  public  opinion  in  the  state,  Mr.  Burchard 
was  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  and  for  several  terms  repre- 
sented the  Freeport  district  in  the  lower  house  of  congress,  fol- 
lowing which  service  he  filled  the  position  of  director  of  the 
United  States  mint  at  Philadelphia. 

John  Curtiss  Burroughs,  (1818-1875)  who  was  a  trustee 
from  1867-1870,  was  president  of  the  old  Chicago  University  then 
on  account  of  its  poverty  in  a  dying  condition,  and  had  had  long 
experience  in  the  education  of  the  old  type  of  college.  That  was, 
however,  in  a  manner,  to  be  discarded  in  the  new  movement 
which  was  to  introduce  a  system  of  education  more  practical  in 
character.  Not  a  few  members  of  the  board,  especially  those 
leaders  in  the  agricultural  and  horticultural  societies  who  had 
a  place  there,  looked  upon  his  presence  on  the  board  as  portend- 
ing no  good  to  their  views.  Dr.  Burroughs  was  also  a  strenuous 
churchman  as  were  Messrs.  Edwards,  Galusha,  Goltra,  Mahan, 
Quick,  Van  Osdel,  and  Lawi*ence.  Thomas  Quick  was  at  the 
head  of  a  denominational  school  in  one  of  the  southern  counties. 
As  these  gentlemen  all  belonged  to  one  particular  church — 
Baptist — it  took  some  time  and  experience  to  allay  suspicions 
which  naturally  arose  among  those  who  wanted  an  entire  absence 


The  First  Board  of  Trustees  341 

of  denominations  in  the  new  university  and  devotion  to  worldly 
matters  alone.  However,  Burroughs  proved  a  most  broad  minded 
member  of  the  board.  His  experience  as  the  head  of  the  Chicago 
university  and  as  an  educator  of  wide  practice  gave  him  the  very 
qualities  needed.  All  through  the  Avork  of  the  session  he  showed 
himself  capable,  and  under  his  influence  were  many  others  of  the 
trustees  who  were  aided  in  their  work.  Burroughs  served  on  the 
committee  on  libraiy  and  cabinets. 

Alexander  Montgomery  Brown  (1818-1879)  who  served  as 
trustee  1868-1879,  was  a  man  of  broad  and  generous  ideas, 
though  not  an  educator  by  profession  and  very  practical  in  all  his 
views.  He  was  a  laAvyer  and  possessed  the  confidence  of  all  who 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  make  his  acquaintance.  He  was  a  most 
useful  member  of  the  board,  his  practical  turn  of  mind  and  great 
business  sagacity  at  all  times  being  found  most  useful  in  solving 
difficult  questions  concerning  the  management  of  the  affairs  of 
the  university.  He  served  on  the  auditing  committee  and  the 
committee  on  by-laws  and  rules. 

Emory  Cobb,  (1831-1910)  served  as  trustee  from  1867-1893. 
His  connection  with  financial  matters  eminently  fitted  liim  for 
the  position  of  financial  director  of  the  new  university  and  he 
was  appointed  on  the  committee  of  finance  by  Governor  Oglesby, 
acting  president  of  the  board  upon  the  first  day  of  the  first 
session  of  that  body.  In  that  position  he  continued  as  long  as 
he  served  as  a  trustee.  The  appointment  was  a  most  fortunate 
one,  and  brought  into  the  services  of  the  university  one  whose 
work  had  well  fitted  him  as  a  manager  and  director  of  any  great 
financial  affair,  and  one  Avhose  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
university  called  into  action  all  the  power  he  possessed. 

The  time  and  attention  given  by  him  to  the  affairs  of  the 
university  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  would  have  com- 
manded from  any  financial  institution  a  salary  of  the  most  liberal 
dimensions,  but  he  cheerfully  and  freely  gave  all  his  efforts 
to  the  university.  Without  exaggeration  it  can  be  claimed  for 
him  that  he  exerted  a  greater  influence  upon  the  financial,  agri- 
cultural, and  educational  policies  of  the  university  than  any 
other  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  He  served  only,  however, 
upon  the  financial  committee. 


342  History  UnivcrsUy  of  Illinois 

Joseph  Oscar  Cunningham  (1830-1917)  was  a  trustee  from 
1867-1873.  lie  was  a  la^\yer  of  keen  insight  and  large  vision 
which  made  him  a  valuable  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees 
when  vexing  questions  in  regard  to  land  titles  frequently  arose. 
Cunningham  served  one  term  as  judge  of  the  county  court  for 
Champaign  county ;  was  joint  author  of  Jones  and  Cunningham 's 
' '  Practice  in  the  county  courts  of  Illinois ; ' '  and  author  of  ' '  His- 
tory of  Champaign  county. "  As  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee and  living  in  Urbana,  his  work  on  the  board  and  his  coun- 
sel available  at  all  times  were  invaluable. 

Matthias  Lane  Dunlap  (1815-1875)  was  a  trustee  from  1867- 
1870.  He  was  one  of  the  notable  agriculturists  of  the  state. 
Himself  a  farmer,  nurserjmian,  and  fruit  grower,  he  resented 
bitterly  the  attitude  of  the  schools  of  the  day  towards  agri- 
culture. He  longed  ardently  to  alleviate  the  weight  of  ignor- 
ance which  he  saw  on  the  fanns  all  about  liim.  As  "Timothy 
Hardup"  he  published  in  the  Chicago  Democrat  and  the  Prairie 
Farmer  an  account  of  the  hardships  he  had  met  and  overcome 
while  farming  in  the  40  's  and  early  50  's.  Later  when  the  Demo- 
crat was  merged  into  the  Chicago  Tribune,  Dunlap  under  the 
pseudonym  "Rural"  became  its  agricultural  editor,  and  a  real 
power  in  the  agriculture  of  the  state.  When  the  new  university 
especially  founded  for  the  sons  of  the  soil  opened  its  doors,  he 
was  determined  that  it  should  not  stray  from  the  purpose  to 
which  it  had  been  dedicated,  and  it  can  traly  be  said  that  when- 
ever he  saw  it  straying  he  forcibly  prodded  it  back.  Dunlap 
was  for  a  term  a  member  of  the  Illinois  House  of  Representa- 
tives; in  1852  he  was  nominated  for  lieutenant  governor  but 
declined  the  nomination.  Political  life  he  could  endure  as  a 
duty  but  he  would  not  seek  it  from  choice.  The  home  that  he 
established  known  as  the  "Rural  home  fruit  farm"  situated 
three  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Champaign  under  the  ownership 
and  expert  management  of  his  son  Senator  Henry  M.  Dunlap 
has  become  one  of  the  model  farms  of  the  state. 

Robert  Douglas  was  at  the  time  a  practical  florist  and  nur- 
seryman of  Waukegan,  and  besides  a  thorough  professional 
knowledge  possessed  by  him,  was  a  man  of  the  most  advanced 
practical  good  sense  in  a  general  way.     Mr.  Douglas  appeared 


The  First  Board  of  Trustees  343 

at  the  meetings  of  the  board  for  the  first  time  at  the  November 
session  1867. 

Samuel  Edwards  (1819-1898)  of  Bureau  county,  a  trustee 
from  1867  to  1873,  was  also  a  practical  farmer  and  horticulturist, 
and  an  efficient  member  of  the  state  horticultural  society,  Mr. 
Edwards  served  upon  the  committee  on  horticulture  and  upon  the 
auditing  committee.  He  Avas  a  most  conscientious  and  devoted 
friend  of  the  university. 

Willard  Cutting  Flagg  (1829-1878)  served  as  trustee  from 
1867-1878.  He  was  a  valuable  member  of  the  first  board  for  he 
was  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  a  successful  horticulturist  and  prac- 
tical farmer.  In  1856  and  1858  Flagg  wrote  campaign  literature 
for  the  republican  party  and  was,  in  1860,  a  member  of  the 
republican  state  and  county  committees.  President  Lincoln 
appointed  him  internal  revenue  collector  of  the  twelfth  Illinois 
district  in  1862  which  position  he  held  until  1869  Avhen  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  senate  for  a  four-year  term.  He  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  university  for  several  years  as  director 
of  experiments  and  superintendent  of  the  farms.  As  trustee 
of  the  university  he  served  upon  the  committee  on  the  agricul- 
tural department  and  the  committee  on  library  and  cabinets. 

Moore  C.  Goltra  (1810-1881)  was  a  trustee  from  1867-1873. 
He  was  the  contractor  and  builder  of  the  first  institution  for  the 
insane  and  school  for  the  deaf  in  Jacksonville.  He  did  much  of 
the  work  of  locating  lands  for  the  university;  making  long, 
wearisome  journeys  into  Minnesota  and  Nebraska  for  this  pur- 
pose. He  was  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  agriculture  and 
as  trustee  served  on  the  committee  on  mechanical  department 
and  the  building  and  grounds  committee, 

Orson  Bingham  Galusha  (1819-1898),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1868  to  1873,  was  likewise  by  occupation  a  horticulturist. 
A  life-long  friend  of  J.  B,  Turner  he  worked  earnestly  with  him 
to  secure  the  university  of  Illinois,  He  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  state  horticultural  society  and  a  frequent  contributor  to 
horticultural  journals.  He  was  a  member  of  the  auditing  and 
finance  committees  of  the  board  of  trustees. 


344  History  University  of  Illinois 

David  S.  Hammond  (1811-1883),  who  served  as  trustee  from 
1867-1870,  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  horticultural  de- 
partment. 

George  Harding  was  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  of  long  and 
successful  experience.  He  was  appointed  upon  the  finance  com- 
mittee, but  died  in  1868,  at  Paris,  111. 

Samuel  Snowden  Hayes  (1820-  ),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867-1870,  was  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  a  lawj^er 
of  large  acquaintance  and  more  than  state  reputation.  He  came 
to  the  state  in  1838  from  the  south  and  for  many  years  exercised 
a  very  great  political  influence  in  the  south  part  of  the  state. 
He  occupied  seats  in  both  the  constitutional  conventions  of  1848 
and  1870,  and  had  a  marked  influence  in  the  shaping  of  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  state,  besides  having  served  several 
terms  in  the  general  assembly.  Mr.  Hayes  was  a  man  of  marked 
and  distinguished  appearance  and  with  his  long  public  sei-vice 
was  a  most  able  counsellor  in  the  early  history  of  the  university. 
He  served  upon  the  committee  on  faculty  and  course  of  instnic- 
tion. 

John  Stephen  Johnson  (1818-  ),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867-1873,  was  a  practical  fanner  of  Hancock  county  and 
by  his  regular  attendance  upon  the  sessions  of  the  board  during 
the  six  years  of  his  connection  with  the  body,  and  his  practical 
good  sense,  was  a  useful  member.  He  served  upon  the  commit- 
tee upon  buildings  and  grounds. 

J.  P.  Hungate  of  Clay  county  seldom  attended  the  meetings 
of  the  board  and  hardly  established  a  reputation  with  its  mem- 
bers. He  was  appointed  upon  the  committee  on  mechanical 
department.    He  served  as  trustee  only  about  a  year. 

Luther  W.  Lawrence  (1808-1886),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867  to  1873,  was  much  interested  in  the  new  institution, 
and  gave  it  careful  attention.  Mr.  Lawrence  was  a  clergyman 
of  the  Baptist  church  and  a  man  of  wide  acquaintance  in  the 
northern  counties.  He  had  served  in  three  sessions  of  the  general 
assembly  and  in  the  constitutional  convention  of  1863.  At  the 
time  of  his  connection  with  the  university  and  for  some  years 
before  and  after,  he  was  judge  of  county  court  of  his  county. 


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Members  of  First  Board  of  Trustees 


^YILLARD  C.  Flagg  M.  L.  Dunlap  Burden  Pullex 

]Masox  Braymax  a.  B.  McCoxxell 

Clark  K.  Griggs  Lemuel  Allex  J.  O.  Cuxxixgham 


The  First  Board  of  Trustees  345 

He  served  most  acceptably  on  the  committee  on  military  depart- 
ment. 

Isaac  Sanders  Mahan  (1828-1893),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867  to  1875,  was  also  a  Baptist  minister,  and  one  who  took 
very  great  interest  in  the  institution.  He  was  appointed  on  the 
committee  on  library  and  cabinet.  Mr.  Mahan  soon  after  his 
appointment  changed  his  residence  to  Champaign  for  the  edu- 
cational advantages  to  his  children  and  graduated  two  from  the 
university  in  its  early  years. 

L.  B.  McMurray,  who  served  as  trustee  from  1867  to  1873, 
attended  the  sessions  of  the  board  but  seldom.  He  was  appointed 
upon  the  committee  on  agricultural  department. 

Richard  J.  Oglesby  (1824-1899)  was  trustee  ex  officio  from 
1867  to  1868.  In  early  life  he  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter  hence 
knew  from  his  o^vn  experience  the  educational  needs  of  the  work- 
ers. Later  he  studied  and  practiced  law.  He  fought  in  the  civil 
war  being  made  Major  General  of  volunteers  by  President  Lin- 
coln. He  served  three  terms  as  governor  of  Illinois ;  also  served 
as  United  States  senator. 

James  Henry  Pickrell  (1834-1901),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867  to  1869,  was  a  farmer  and  stockraiser  of  ripe  experi- 
ence, and  well  qualified  for  the  position  upon  the  committee  on 
agricultural  department  to  which  he  was  appointed.  Mr.  Pick- 
rell proved  himself  a  useful  and  faithful  trustee,  attending  all 
meetings  of  the  board  and  always  ready  with  helpful  suggestions. 

Burden  Pullen  (1833-1913),  who  served  as  trustee  from 
1867  to  1873,  was  a  banker,  fruit  grower  and  manufacturer.  He 
helped  to  plan  and  plant  the  old  university  arboretum ;  he  was 
one  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  horticultural  exhibit  of  the 
world's  fair  of  1893 ;  and  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  agri- 
culture for  more  than  twenty  years.  He  was  assigned  to  the 
chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  horticulture. 

Thomas  Quick  (1823-deceased),  who  seiwed  as  trustee  from 
1867  to  1868,  was  at  the  time  of  his  election  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  a  college  located  in  his  own  town,  Iiwington, 
and  was  one  of  the  few  members  of  the  board  who  brought  to 
the  discharge  of  their  official  duties  some  degree  of  experience 


346  History  University  of  Illinois 

m  the  conduct  of  institutions  of  learning  of  the  higher  grades. 
By  profession  he  was  a  lawyer,  and  possessed  a  cultured  mind. 
He  served  with  a  great  degree  of  usefulness  upon  the  committee 
on  agricultural  department,  as  its  chairman,  and  was  looked  upon 
as  one  of  the  best  qualified  men  on  the  board. 

Dr.  John  W.  Scroggs  (1817-1874),  who  served  as  trustee 
from  1867  to  1869,  was  the  only  physician  named  upon  the  first 
board.  On  his  election  to  the  legislature  in  1868  he  resigned  his 
position  as  trustee.  His  services  in  the  legislature  were  valuable 
to  the  university  as  he  helped  to  obtain  its  first  appropriation 
from  the  state  treasury.  He  was  an  active  agent  of  Chami)aigu 
county  in  the  work  of  securing  the  location  of  the  university. 
He  was  a  vigorous  man  of  cutting  speech  who  made  many  friends 
and  many  enemies. 

Clark  Robinson  Griggs  (1824-1916)  was  appointed  to  fill 
out  the  unexpired  term  of  Dr.  Scroggs  and  served  as  trustee  from 
1869  to  1873.  He  was  born  in  East  Hawley,  Massachusetts.  In 
his  youth  he  preached  as  an  evangelist  of  the  Second  Advent 
Church,  and  served  a  term  in  the  Massachusetts  legislature.  He 
was  appointed  by  Col.  W,  N.  Coler  sutler  for  the  25th  regiment, 
resigning  to  build  a  bakery  at  Memphis,  Tennessee  where  he 
catered  for  regiments  of  the  post  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Urbana,  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  became  mayor  of  the  town,  and  as  representa- 
tive to  the  legislature  was  very  active  in  obtaining  the  location 
of  the  university  for  his  home  town.  He  served  upon  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

■Charles  H.  Topping,  wjio  served  as  trustee  from  1867  to 
1868,  was  a  farmer  and  fruit-raiser,  intelligent  and  educated, 
with  an  ardent  desire  to  see  the  industrial  classes  provided  with 
opportunities  for  education  along  the  lines  of  their  several  oc- 
cupations. He  served  upon  the  committee  upon  mechanical  and 
horticultural  departments. 

John  M.  Van  Osdel  (1811-1891),  who  served  as  trustee  from 
1867  to  1873,  was  a  professional  architect  of  many  years'  prac- 
tice, and  one  possessing  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  a  state-wide 
acquaintance.  His  appointment  was  a  most  fortunate  one  for 
the  young  educational  enterprise.     He  well  understood  the  great 


George  Athertox 
Member  of   First   Faeultv 


O.  B.  Galusha 
Member  of  First  Board  of  Trustees 


Bexjamix   Fraxklix  Harris 
One  of  the  Incorporators  of  the  "  Urbana-Champaijjn  Institute" 

Benjamin  F.  Harris  was  born  in  Winchester,  Virginia,  in  IMl  ainl  re- 
moved to  Champaign  county,  Illinois,  in  1831.  He  became  the  largest  cattle 
feeder  in  the  corn-belt;  feeding  world's  record  hundred  cattle  weighing 
2378  lbs.  He  foumled  the  First  National  Bank  of  Champaign.  His  portrait 
has  been  placed  in  the  Illinois  Farmers'  Hall  of  Fame. 


The  First  Board  of  Trustees  347 

need  of  society  for  educated  mechanics  and  artisans.  He  knew 
most  thoroughly  the  inadequacy  of  any  and  all  existing  insti- 
tutions to  supply  this  need,  and  entered  into  the  work  of  instal- 
ling and  setting  in  motion  the  forces  which  he  hoped  and  believed 
would  fill  the  long  felt  want  of  society.  His  professional  know- 
ledge and  judgment  Avere  of  the  greatest  service  to  the  board, 
fitting  up  of  the  building  on  hand  for  its  best  service,  as  well  as 
architect  for  the  buildings  that  were  erected  as  fast  as  the  legis^ 
lature  furnished  the  means  for  their  construction. 

Though  Governor  Oglesby  considered  that  he  had  been  be- 
trayed into  appointing  too  many  of  the  Baptist  denomination 
to  this  board  of  trustees,  nevertheless  he  could  well  have  felt 
proud  of  them  for  they  rendered  splendid  service  in  laying  the 
foundations  for  a  great  state  university.  The  leaders  on  the 
board  were  capable,  conscientious,  and  untiring  in  their  efforts 
to  make  the  new  venture  a  success.  ' '  Too  high  an  estimate  of  the 
services  of  these  eminent  citizens, ' '  said  Judge  Cunningham  who 
furnished  much  information  for  these  sketches,  "will  never  be 
made  by  any  one  considering  the  rise,  eminence,  and  progress  of 
the  University  of  Illinois." 


348  History  University  of  Illinois 

THE  FIRST  FACULTY 

John  Milton  Gregory 

John  M.  Gregory,  LL.  D.  (1822-1898)  was  a  native  of  Rens- 
selaer County,  New  York.  He  graduated,  in  1846  at  Union 
College,  under  the  eloquent  Dr.  Nott,  at  the  head  of  a  class  of 
ninety-three.  He  was  bred  to  the  law,  but  circumstances  led 
him  to  devote  himself  to  the  work  of  public  education. 

In  1854  he  became  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Michigan 
Journal  of  Education,  which  he  continued  to  edit  and  publish 
for  five  years  with  marked  success.  During  these  years  his  voice 
was  frequently  heard  in  educational  gatherings  and  conventiofts 
and  on  the  platform.  In  1858,  at  the  earnest  demand  of  the  lead- 
ing educators  of  the  state,  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the 
office  of  superintendent  of  public  instruction.  Twice  subse- 
quently he  was  nominated  by  acclamation  and  re-elected  by 
largely  increased  majorities.  His  Avork  for  the  Michigan  public 
school  system  was  recognized  and  acknowledged  by  men  of  all 
parties.  His  numerous,  eloquent  and  impressive  public  addresses 
aroused  public  attention,  awakened  and  directed  public  senti- 
ment, and  gave  to  the  cause  of  education  an  impulse  which  it 
long  continued  to  feel. 

In  1865,  after  six  years  of  public  service,  he  became  presi- 
dent of  Kalamazoo  College.  In  1867,  the  legislature  of  Illinois 
passed  the  law  creating  the  Industrial  University,  and  J.  M. 
Gregory  was  called  to  undertake  the  arduous  and  difficult  work 
of  its  organization.  For  more  than  thirteen  years  he  remained 
at  its  head,  and  on  the  occasion  of  his  resignation  the  faculty 
of  the  university  said  in  their  resolution :  ' '  We  gladly  acknow- 
ledge and  greatly  appreciate  your  eminent  services  rendered  the 
University.  In  the  original  conception  of  the  institution,  in  the 
plans  for  its  development,  you  have  worthily  won  the  high  honor 
of  being  foremost  and  chief.  What  the  University  has  been  in 
the  past,  what  it  is  now,  and  what  it  will  be  in  time  to  come, 
is  very  largely  due  to  your  Avisdom,  ability  and  zeal,  and  as  a 
great  and  growing  educational  power  in  our  land,  it  must  forever 


The  First  Faculty  349 

remain  a  grand  monument  to  your  memory."  The  board  of 
trustees  on  the  same  occasion,  said  in  their  resolutions:  "The 
Illinois  Industrial  University  is  and  ever  will  be  a  monument  to 
the  name,  fame  and  genius  of  Dr.  Gregory. ' ' 

But  his  educational  labors  by  no  means  constitute  the  whole 
of  his  public  work.  Six  times  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  for  ex- 
tended tours  of  observation  or  for  important  public  services. 
As  a  United  States  commissioner,  he  visited  the  International 
Exhibition  at  Vienna  in  1873,  and  that  of  Paris  in  1878.  In 
1876  he  served  as  one  of  the  international  judges  in  one  of  the 
most  important  departments  of  the  Centennial  Exposition  in 
Philadelphia.  He  delivered  lectures  in  most  of  the  great  cities 
of  this  country,  and  in  Paris  and  London  in  the  Old  World, 
attracting  large  audiences.  He  was  also  a  contributor  to  the 
press  in  essays,  pamphlets,  reports  and  other  publications.  He 
died  in  Washington,  D.  C,  October  20,  1898,  and  was  buried  on 
the  campus  of  the  university  of  Illinois  in  the  ground  just  west 
of  the  main  university  building. 

George  Washington  Atherton 

George  W.  Atherton  (1837-1906)  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  first  faculty  in  1867  and  was  on  the  ground  with  Dr.  Gregory 
for  some  weeks  preceding  the  opening  of  the  university  in  1868. 
He  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  held  both  the  Bachelor's 
and  Master's  degrees  from  Yale  University.  He  resigned  his 
position  at  the  Illinois  industrial  university  on  January  1,  1869, 
to  accept  the  professorship  of  political  economy  and  constitu- 
tional law  at  Rutgers,  N.  J.  From  there  he  went  in  1882  to  be 
president  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  College.  He  died  in  1906 
at  State  College,  Pa.  His  career  was  a  notable  one  but  belongs 
rather  to  eastern  states  and  institutions  than  to  Illinois  where 
he  spent  only  a  few  months.  His  work  nevertheless  was  of  vital 
importance  for  he  was  aiding  in  laying  the  foundations. 

Thomas  Jonathan  Burrill 

Thomas  J.  Burrill  (1839-1916)  came  to  the  university  of 
Illinois  as  instructor  in  algebra  in  April  of  1868.    He  had  gradu- 


350  History  University  of  Illinois 

ated  from  the  State  nonnal  university  at  Normal  in  1865  and  had 
come  to  Urbana  as  superintendent  of  schools. 

It  was  a  fortunate  day  for  the  university  and  for  the  man 
himself  when  Burrill  took  a  place  upon  its  faculty.  His  signifi- 
cant intellectual  powers  were  developing ;  the  great  and  generous 
qualities  of  character  which  were  his  commanding  gifts  were 
offered  a  liberal  field  for  exercise.  Charles  M.  Moss,  a  professor  in 
the  classical  department,  says  of  these  early  years:  ''He  taught 
most  of  the  day,  was  horticulturist  to  the  experiment  station, 
planted  with  his  own  hands  or  saw  to  the  planting  of  most  of 
the  trees  on  the  campus,  after  he  had  laid  it  out  for  treatment, 
wrote  reports,  lectured  here  and  there,  served  on  innumerable 
committees,  collected  specimens  up  and  down  the  state,  and,  lest 
some  remnant  of  his  time  should  be  unoccupied,  was  charged  by 
the  board  with  the  sale  of  a  pair  of  mules,  whose  labors  on  the 
south  farm  showed  that  they  were  not  so  able  to  stand  the 
strenuous  life  as  he  was.  His  professorship  began  at  sunup  and 
lasted  indefinitely,  and  included  everything  that  needed  doing. ' ' 

Burrill  was  compelled  by  the  necessity  of  the  university  to 
give  several  years  to  administrative  work.  In  1878  he  was  made 
dean  of  the  college  of  science.  In  1879  he  became  acting  regent 
and  vice  president  while  Gregoiy  was  in  Europe.  He  also  served 
in  this  position  during  the  interregnum  between  the  Gregory  and 
Peabody  administrations  in  1880,  and  again  from  1891  to  1894 
between  the  Peabody  and  Draper  terms.  The  three  years  from 
1891  to  1894  proved  him  a  man  of  genuine  administrative  capac- 
ity. Almost  his  first  undertaking  was  to  reorganize  the  trouble- 
some militaiy  department  in  such  thorough  fashion  that  it  has 
given  no  trouble  since.  During  these  years  the  graduate  school, 
the  summer  session,  the  course  in  municipal  and  sanitary  engin- 
eering were  established.  Burrill  adopted  a  new  fashion  of  deal- 
ing with  the  legislature.  Instead  of  hesitatingly  asking  for  as 
little  money  as  the  university  could  maintain  itself  upon,  he 
courteously  and  forcibly  requested  enough  for  reasonable  expan- 
sion. It  was  a  wise  policy  as  the  later  development  of  the  uni- 
versity proved. 

Although  compelled  to  devote  himself  to  administrative 
work  during  these  years  Burrill  by  no  means  neglected  scientific 


5^  % 


First  Faculty 


The  First  Faculty  351 

investigation.  He  was  botanist  and  horticulturist  for  the  Illinois 
agricultural  experiment  station,  and,  beginning  with  1880,  for 
the  United  States  agricultural  experiment  station.  In  1880  he 
announced  his  epoch  making  discovery  of  the  existence  of  bac- 
terial disease  of  plants.  Pear  blight  he  found  was  a  contagious 
disease  of  the  pear,  apple,  and  quince,  a  disease  caused  by  bac- 
teria and  never  by  anything  else.  His  later  experiments  con- 
cerned bitter  rot  in  apples,  ear  rot  in  corn,  blackberry  and  rasp- 
berry rust,  potato  scab,  peach  "yellows"  and  other  destructive 
plant  maladies. 

Burrill  retired  from  active  work  as  a  member  of  the  univer- 
sity faculty  in  1912  and  for  the  four  years  remaining  to  him  de- 
voted himself  wholly  to  science.  He  set  himself  the  baffling 
problem  of  inducing  nitrogen-gathering  bacteria  to  grow  on  non- 
leguminous  plants.  In  this  he  did  not  succeed.  In  his  own  words 
spoken  in  another  connection :  ' '  But  even  with  those  plants  most 
obedient  to  man  there  is  a  limit  beyond  which  they  never  go. 
Some  eternal  proclamation  had  been  issued  to  them  long  before 
man  had  an  existence  saying,  '  thus  far  shalt  thou  go  and  no  fur- 
ther'— wheat  will  give  up  its  beard  and  barley  won't — the  cab- 
bage changes  but  dog  fennel  is  dog  fennel  still."  He  put  the 
ardor  of  his  life  into  the  green  things  that  grow  on  the  earth 
and  they  returned  to  him  that  most  precious  of  all  gifts — under- 
standing. 

Samuel  Walker  Shattuck 

Samuel  W.  Shattuck  (1841-1915)  came  to  the  university  in 
September,  1868,  as  assistant  professor  of  mathematics  and  in- 
structor in  military  tactics.  In  1870  he  was  given  the  title  of 
professor  of  civil  engineering ;  in  1871  that  of  professor  of  math- 
ematics, a  position  which  he  held  until  his  death.  He  gave,  for 
some  years,  all  the  instruction  offered  in  mathematics  including 
plane  and  solid  geometry,  advanced  algebra,  trigonometry,  and 
calculus,  besides  being  responsible  for  other  work  in  civil  engin- 
eering. During  the  years  from  1871  to  1905  he  was  head  of  the 
department  of  mathematics,  but  in  1905  his  other  executive  du- 
ties had  become  so  exacting  that  he  gave  up  the  active  manage- 
ment of  the  department. 


352  History  University  of  Illinois 

In  1873  during  the  absence  of  Gregoiy,  Shattuck  was  for  six 
months  acting  regent  of  the  university,  and  about  this  time  he 
was  appointed  business  manager  of  the  institution,  a  position 
which  he  held  until  1905  when  the  work  remained  essentially 
the  same  but  the  title  was  changed  to  comptroller.  It  was  in 
the  management  of  the  university's  financial  affairs  that  Shat- 
tuck  made  his  unique  contribution  to  the  institution.  He  had  a 
real  genius  for  financiering;  genuine  insight  into  the  baffling 
problems  of  when  to  spend  and  when  to  withhold.  However 
w^armly  his  sympathies  might  be  aroused,  however  ardently  he 
might  desire  certain  improvements,  he  always  kept  a  little  corner 
of  himself  cool  to  think  with  just  before  letting  go  of  the  money. 
Undoubtedly  it  was  due  to  this!  that  during  the  more  than  forty 
years  of  his  administration  of  funds  the  university  was  never 
called  upon  to  make  explanation  of  unhappy  financial  compli- 
cations in  his  accounts.  In  1912,  after  forty-four  years  of  service 
he  retired  as  professor  emeritus,  bearing  ' '  his  honors  thick  upon 
him." 

Stillman  Williams  Eobinson 

Stillman  Williams  Robinson  was  professor  of  mechanical 
engineering  and  physics,  1870-1878,  and  became  dean  of  the  col- 
lege in  the  latter  year,  but  resumed  his  old  place  in  1879  and 
remained  until  1882.  Professor  Robinson  took  his  C.  E.  from  the 
University  of  Michigan  in  1863 ;  and  received  his  D.  Sc.  from 
Ohio  State  in  1896.  He  died  in  1910,  at  which  time  he  was 
professor  emeritus  of  mechanical  engineering  at  Ohio  State  Uni- 
versity. He  was  born  in  1838  at  South  Reading,  Vt.,  and  received 
his  preparatory  education  in  Springfield,  Vt.,  and  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.  He  held  various  faculty  positions  in  the  university  of 
Michigan  before  coming  to  Illinois.  Besides  the  accomplishment 
of  his  faculty  duties  here  and  later  at  Ohio  State  University,  he 
found  time  to  act  as  consulting  engineer  for  the  Santa  Fe  Rail- 
road and  for  the  Lick  Telescope  and  Mountings  Co.  His  pat- 
ented inventions  numbered  about  forty,  among  which  was  the 
first  thermometer  graduating  machine  to  be  introduced.  He 
was  the  author  of  many  books  and  pamphlets,  and  a  member  of 
several  organizations  for  engineers  and  scientists. 


Tlie  First  Faculty  353 

Edward  Snyder 

Edward  Snyder,  whose  loan  fund  for  students  helps  to  keep 
fresh  our  remembrance  of  him,  came  in  the  opening  year  of  the 
University  to  teach  bookkeeping  and  Gennan,  In  1870  he  was 
made  professor  of  German  and  of  militaiy  science,  and  was  in 
charge  of  the  battalion  for  ten  years.  In  the  busy  time  between 
1880  and  1896  he  was  professor  of  German,  recording  secretary 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  business  agent,  and  dean  of  the  College 
of  Literature.  He  was  born  in  1835  in  Austrian  Poland,  and 
was  educated  in  Lemburg,  Vienna,  and  in  military  schools.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1862,  and  after  serving  in  the  civil 
war  taught  in  St.  Louis  and  in  Carlinville,  before  coming  to  Ur- 
bana.  He  served  the  university  for  almost  thirty  years,  and 
during  that  time  his  value  to  the  institution  steadily  increased. 
His  resignation  in  1894  was  not  accepted,  and  he  was  granted  a 
year's  leave  of  absence  on  half  pay.  He  served  for  a  time  after 
his  return  but  resigned  in  1896  and  went  to  California.  He  died 
at  Pacific  Beach  seven  years  later. 

WiLLARD  FlAGG  BlISS 

Willard  Flagg  Bliss  was  professor  of  agriculture,  instructor 
in  French,  recording  secretaiy  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and 
clerk  of  the  executive  board  during  the  year  1868  to  1870.  He 
graduated  from  Harvard  University  with  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  arts  sixty-three  years  ago.  He  was  then  twenty-six  years  of 
age.  Bom  in  Essex,  Vt.,  he  came  west  to  St.  Louis  to  begin  his 
preparatory  education  in  Edward  "Wyman's  School,  but  returned 
to  Phillips  Exeter  to  finish.  Following  his  graduation  from  Har- 
vard he  was  assistant  professor  of  Latin  in  Washington  Uni- 
versity for  four  years,  and  was  engaged  in  farming  for  eight 
years  prior  to  his  coming  to  the  university.  He  was  a  member  of 
Zcta  Psi,  and  of  the  state  natural  histoiy  society.  After  leaving 
the  university  he  returned  to  his  farm  near  Sterling,  Va.  He 
died  October  8,  1915,  at  Leesburg,  Va. 

A.  P.  S.  Stuart 

Professor  Stuart  came  to  the  University  from  Harvard 
where  he  had  done  research  work.     He  was  full  of  a  kind  of 


354  History  University  of  Illinois 

enthusiasm  which  indirectly  resulted  in  the  building  of  the  first 
chemical  laboratory  at  the  university,  the  structure  now  occu- 
pied by  the  college  of  law.  Professor  Stuart  was  put  into  a  base- 
ment room  of  the  old  university  building.  When  university  hall 
was  erected,  basement  quarters  were  set  aside  in  the  new  building. 
Then  and  there  Professor  Stuart  said  he  had  done  all  the  ser- 
vices he  was  going  to  do  in  the  basement,  and  resigned.  His 
resignation  bore  in  on  the  board  of  tinistees  the  need  of  a  chem- 
ical laboratory,  and  the  structure  was  erected  as  soon  thereafter 
as  possible.  After  leaving  the  university  in  1874  he  went  to 
Lincoln,  Nebr.,  where  he  entered  the  banking  business  and  be- 
came quite  wealthy.  He  was,  however,  caught  in  the  financial 
panic  of  1893,  and  the  sudden  reverse  proved  to  be  too  much 
for  him.  His  mentality  became  affected,  and  he  died  about  1895. 
Even  in  his  declining  years  his  interest  in  science  did  not  abate, 
and  he  went  east  regularly  to  attend  meetings  of  scientific  soci- 
eties. 

William  Melville  Baker 

William  Melville  Baker  held  the  position  of  professor  of 
the  English  language  and  instructor  in  natural  philosophy  from 
1868  to  1873.  He  died  on  April  16  of  the  latter  year,  and  his 
simple  gravestone  may  be  seen  in  Mt.  Hope  cemetery,  Urbana. 
Professor  Baker  held  no  collegiate  degree,  but  was  educated  at 
home  and  in  the  school  of  George  Field,  Prospect,  Maine ;  one 
year  in  Water\dlle ;  one  year  in  the  Bangor  Seminary ;  and  three 
years  in  Bowdoin  College.  He  was  born  on  Independence  Day, 
1823,  at  Phippsburg,  Maine.  He  taught  in  various  schools  from 
1846  to  1857,  and  in  the  latter  year  organized  a  classical  high 
school  at  Quincy,  111.  Later  he  became  assistant  to  the  superin- 
tendent of  public  instruction.  He  was  chaplain  of  the  97th  111. 
Volunteers,  1861  to  1864. 

Henry  Marshall  Douglas 

Henry  Marshall  Douglas  was  "assistant  teacher  of  lan- 
guages," 1869-1873.  He  came  here  from  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  had  been  teaching  in  a  normal  and  training  school  for  a  year. 
He  had  attended  school  there  and  at  Rensselaer  Academy,  Mex- 


The  First  Faculty  355 

ico,  N.  Y.  He  was  born  September  15,  1846,  at  Fernwood,  N.  Y. 
After  leaving  the  university  in  1873  he  continued  teaching,  but 
later  entered  the  Baptist  ministry.  He  has  had  charge  of  con- 
gregations in  New  York  and  Vermont ;  and  has  done  some  writing 
in  the  field  of  modern  languages.  His  address  is,  (or  was), 
Bernardston,  Mass.,  where  he  served  as  a  Baptist  minister. 

John  A.  Warder 

Dr.  John  A.  Warder,  of  Cincinnati  was  non-resident  lec- 
turer on  vegetable  physiolog}^  and  forestiy  from  the  opening  of 
the  university  to  1873,  He  was  well  known  as  a  scientist,  and  had 
named  and  recorded  a  new  species  of  catawba.  Several  of  his 
books  are  still  read,  among  them  being  his  work  on  pomologj^ 
and  also  his  ''Hedges  and  Evergreens."  He  died  several  years 
ago  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Sanborn  Tenney 

Professor  Sanborn  Tenney  (1827-1877),  was  non-resident 
lecturer  on  zoology  from  1870  to  1874.  His  home  Avas  in  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  assisted  Horace  Mann  of  the  state  board  of 
education.  He  was  professor  of  natural  histoiy  at  Vassar  and 
later  at  Williams  College.  Besides  lecturing  and  teaching  he 
wrote  several  textbooks  on  natural  history  and  on  geology. 

Robert  Warder 

Robert  Warder,  son  of  Dr.  John  A.  Warder,  was  laboratory 
assistant  in  chemistry,  1869  to  1871.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Earl- 
ham  College  and  of  Harvard  university.  He  later  became  pro- 
fessor of  chemistry  in  Howard  university,  Washington,  D.  C. 
He  died  there  in  1905. 

James  Belangee 

James  Belangee  was  instructor  in  architectural  and  mechan- 
ical drawing  during  the  period  under  discussion.  He  came  in 
1869  and  remained  four  years.  He  was  professor  of  mathematics 
at  Nebraska  state  normal  then  a  retired  architect  at  Fairhope, 
Alabama. 


Letter  Turner  to  BlancJiard  357 

APPENDIX 

Document  Number  1. 

Letter  to  Jonathan  Blanchard,  president  of  Knox  College.  No  signa- 
ture and  no  date  is  on  the  letter  though  a  reply  from  Blanchard  under  date 
of  October  19,  1848,  makes  it  certain  that  it  was  written  by  Jonathan  B. 
Turner  a  few  weeks  before. 

Turner  manuscripts,  University  of  Illinois. 

Illinois  College 

Rev.  President  Blanchard  Dear  Brother  I  have  never  as 
yet  taken  time  to  suggest  to  you  my  ideas  of  an  agricultural 
school :  It  is  true  they  m.ay  not  be  worth  either  writing  or 
reading  but  still  as  the  thing  is  evidently  new  some  one  must 
run  the  hazzard  of  exposing  his  folly  by  making  suggestions — 
and  I  know  of  no  one  who  has  a  greater  capital  in  that  line  to 
spaje  than  myself.  Besides  we  have  already  said  so  much  about 
+he  matter  in  general  terms  that  it  seems  proper  to  endeavor  to 
be  more  specific. — 

I  suppose  then  that  in  such  an  establishment  three  distinct 
professorships  should  be  needed, 

I  A  professor  of  Chemistry  2  a  professor  of  Botany 
and  3  a  professor  of — what-the  green  earth?  say  Agriculture 
and  Horticulture  if  you  please — The  two  first  professorships 
might  be  held  by  one  and  the  same  individual — and  if  the  agri- 
cultural school  was  near  a  college  like  yours  they  would  of  course 
be  already  filled — so  that  in  that  case  we  should  have  to  consult 
only  for  the  prof,  of  Agriculture  etc.  proper 

In  reference  to  this  last  Prof,  there  are  but  three  questions 

1.  What  will  such  a  professor  need  ? 

2.  What  shall  he  do— ? 

3.  How  shall  he  be  supported  ? 

These  points  I  propose  to  consider  in  order — and 

1.  First  such  a  professor  would  need  a  farm  of  at  least 
160  acres.  Said  fann  should  comprise  every  possible  variety  of 
soils — be  well  supplied  either  with  living  or  with  artificial  water 


358 


History  University  of  Illinois 


— and  should  be  divided  ultimately  into  about  8  fields  with  good 
substantial  hedges — say  something  as  follows — 


PdT  SS  C/Q  ^ 


ZO  acres 


Forest  sQrd 
and   Nufser^j 


^ 


20  Qc-res 


-^ 


Staples 


rFic» 


□  !l 


ef-e- 


House  I  vj 


ZO  acK€6 


e*e- 


Fruit  yatd 
and  /Nursery 


ZO  acres 


T) 


PcfSSa.9e 


'^■G-  Gates 

Supposing  the  highest  part  of  the  farm  in  the  centre  the 
above  rough  sketch  will  perhaps  suggest  an  outline  of  the  plan — 

It  should  at  any  rate  comprise  the  following  details  in  some 
form — 

1  Fmit  yard  &  nurseries 

2  Forest  yard  &  nurseries 

3  Botanical  and  culenary  gardens 

4  Ground  for  pasture  &  culture 

5  Ground  for  a  small  but  convenient  House 

6  Ground  for  stables  and  Depository — or  machines  and 
tool  shop — Proper  implements  of  culture  would  of  course  be 
needed — This  I  suppose  a  general  outline  of  what  such  a  profes- 
sor would  need — I  \vould  have  no  display  in  great  houses — but 
only  such  a  snug  convenient  house  as  every  good  farmer  could 
have  and  would  strive  to  emulate — that  is  if  possible  a  model 
Jiouse  for  a  good  farmer  i]i  tolerable  circumstances — all  other 
buildings  the  same  except  the  Depository  which  would  be  pe- 


Letter  Turner  to  Blancliard  359 

culiar  to  the  establishment  as  such — The  uses  of  all  these  will  ap- 
pear as  we  proceed  to  consider  second 

What  sucli  a  professor  should  do — 

1.  He  should  take  pains  to  collect  all  the  best  fruit  and  the 
best  stock  in  the  U.  S.  and  should  make  needful  experiments  in 
cultivating  the  one  and  crossing  and  recrossing  the  other. 

2.  To  the  end  he  should  keep  up  an  active  correspondence 
with  all  the  most  noted  amateur  cultivators  in  the  U.  S.  and  se- 
cure specimens  from  them  by  donations  or  exchange — 

3.  He  should  also  correspond  with  all  proprietors  &  in- 
ventors of  Agricultural  and  horticultural  patents  and  procure 
a  working  model  of  each  of  their  machines  on  deposite  to  be 
put  into  the  depository  for  trial — so  that  eveiy  agricultural  and 
horticultural  machine  instrument  or  tool  that  is  of  any  practical 
use  would  at  last  be  found  in  the  depository  and  be  practically 
tested  and  worked  at  the  proper  time  on  the  farm. 

It  would  soon  happen  if  the  thing  was  well  managed  that 
all  inventors  vendors  and  proprietors  of  fine  stock — seeds  plants 
shrubs  fruits  machines  etc  would  send  on  their  several  wares  and 
inventions  gratuitously  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  them  into  no- 
tice— Especially  would  this  be  true  if  one  or  two  general  public 
fairs — (farmers  fairs)  were  held  annually  for  exhibition  sale,  etc. 

In  short  the  above  faiTn  should  soon  be  able  to  show  prac- 
tically every  sort  of  tree,  shiTib,  frait,  root,  flower,  machine, 
tool,  building,  or  animal  that  can  be  of  any  sort  of  use  to  any 
farmer  in  the  country — And  the  professor  should  be  able  to  work 
it  with  his  own  hands  and  tell  all  about  it 

4  The  professor  should  try  experiments  such  as  either  he 
himself  or  the  professor  of  chemistry  might  deem  expedient  in 
regard  to  rotation  of  crops — recruiting  and  exhausting  lands 
application  of  manures,  fertilisers  etc  and  feeding  animals  and 
different  modes  of  housing  same  etc 

5  He  should  put  into  the  Botanical  garden  and  cultivate 
such  plants  as  the  professor  of  Botany  or  any  other  person  inter- 
ested might  wish  to  see  grow  there — and  in  the  forest  grounds 
should  conduct  similar  operations  on  the  fruit  trees — 

It   may   easily   be   seen  how  the   professor  of   Chemistry 


360  Historij  Univo-sily  of  Illinois 

(Af^ricultural  and  animal)  and  the  professor  of  Botany  could 
cooperate  with  such  a  professorship  without  further  details — In 
short  the  said  farm  should  be  but  one  grand  Museum  for  the 
famier  and  the  gardener  to  which  all  around  and  every  passing 
traveler  should  feel  impelled  to  call — and  bid  freely  welcome — 
Hence  all  parts  of  the  premises  should  at  all  times  be  freely  acces- 
sible from  the  front  gate  and  from  no  other  point — except  that  a 
ride  way  around  the  outside  of  the  whole  would  be  desirable — 

As  to  set  and  formal  lectures  as  many  ought  to  be  given  as 
is  needed — But  if  in  connexion  wdth  a  College  probably  most  of 
the  lectures  would  be  given  by  inviting  the  students  during  their 
hours  of  recreation  to  call  and  see  the  actual  practical  operation 
of  all  peculiar  and  interesting  modes  processes  arts  machines 
animals  etc — and  after  a  little  I  presume  they  would  not  object 
to  a  free  walk  into  the  fruit  yard — a  part  of  which  at  least 
should  be  devoted  exclusively  to  their  benefit  and  free  use — 

But  not  to  pursue  this  further — 

How  shall  such  a  professor  he  supported — ? 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  he  would  be  able  to  support  himself  after 
little- 
Let  him  purchase  the  farm  himself  and  put  the  buildings 
fences  etc  on  it  according  to  his  own  notion — While  he  was  doing 
this  and  arranging  his  affairs  he  would  have  to  struggle  hard 
with  much  to  do  and  little  to  show  but  his  bills  of  expense — 

But  when  this  Avas  done  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  above 
farm  managed  as  it  ought  to  be  would  afford  an  abundant  living 
for  a  family  over  and  above  all  expenses,  experiments  etc. 

For  first  the  experiments  should  all  be  on  a  small  and  cheap 
scale  until  they  promised  an  income — then  and  then  only  should 
they  be  enlarged — and  a  mans  good  judgment  on  this  point  would 
be  among  the  first  proofs  of  his  practical  fitness  for  his  place — 
And  this  is  the  reason  also  why  I  would  put  no  public  funds  into 
the  professors  hands  (certainly  none  beyond  the  original  outfit) 
to  squander  in  day  dreaming  and  absurb  speculations.  I  would 
have  every  new  experiment  bear  directly  on  his  own  private 
purse  so  that  it  might  be  made  economically  as  w^ell  as  carefully — 
You  may  say  this  would  defeat  all  experimenting  But  I  think  not 


Letter  Turner  to  BlancJiard  361 

for  you  must  find  a  man  for  such  a  place  whose  natural  love  of 
experimenting  and  observing  would  impell  him  to  it  wherever  he 
was  and  at  whatever  cost — no  other  man  would  be  likely  to 
accomplish  anything  anyhow. 

1.  This  being  the  fact  then — he  would  soon  have  at  his 
entire  command  all  the  most  valuable  laborsaving  machines  in 
the  county  on  deposit — as  working  models. 

2.  He  would  have  or  might  have  the  finest  breed  stock  in 
all  the  County. 

3.  He  would  have  the  finest  fruit  after  a  little,  and  fruit 
trees  for  sale — and  his  connexion  with  the  farming  community 
would  be  such  that  if  he  managed  as  he  ought  to  do  he  would 
widely  secure  their  affection  and  confidence  and  this  would  se- 
cure him  wide  sales.  Now  if  a  man  could  not  manage  to  live  on 
such  resources  he  ought  to  stai*ve  especially  if  his  children  were 
where  they  could  receive  their  instruction  gratuitously. 

In  short  so  far  as  living  is  concerned  I  should  not  be  at  all 
afraid  to  hire  money  at  6  per  cent,  buy  land  right  around  me 
here  and  open  such  an  establishment  in  connection  with  the 
institution  at  once,  on  my  own  responsibility — were  there  not 
some  things  about  this  establishment  which  I  do  not  like — for 
such  a  purpose. 

This  is  one  mode  of  support — Let  all  be  the  personal  pro- 
perty of  the  professor — and  when  he  dies  or  retires  let  the  next 
professor  buy  it  or  let  others  buy  it  for  him  if  he  pleases — or 
if  not  let  him  buy  and  build  another  for  himself — for  it  matters 
not  if  there  are  ten  thousand  such  model  farms  made  around 
every  college  in  the  land — it  would  only  be  all  so  much  the  better. 

But  on  the  other  hand  if  you  undertake  to  buy  and  build 
everything  for  your  professor  and  be  at  the  expense  of  all  the 
experiments  he  may  see  fit  to  try  it  will  take  a  great  deal  of  money 
for  an  outfit — and  it  will  add  a  heavy  annual  drain  for  costs 
support  etc — which  will  impell  someone  to  heg  beg  beg 

The  conviction  that  one  must  have  some  such  establishment 
in  this  state  is  growing  in  the  public  mind — The  advantages  of 
having  it  near  a  college  where  the  branches  and  especially 
chemistry  and  Botany  are  annually  taught  are  quite  obvious. 


362  History  Utuversiiy  of  Illinois 

I  apprehend  too  that  such  an  establishment  widely  known 
as  it  must  be  would  instead  of  acting  as  a  draw  back  (as  a  theo- 
logical school  is  likely  to  do)  would  greatly  increase  the  universal 
popularity  and  patronage  of  anj^  classical  school  with  which  it 
should  be  connected. 

I  have  thrown  out  the  above  suggestions  merely  to  elicit 
-criticisms  and  suggestions  from  you — You  see  it  is  wholly  a  prac- 
tical affair  that  I  am  after  and  I  think  it  quite  likely  it  will  be 
altogether  too  unscientific  and  unprofessional  to  suit  your  designs 
and  desires. 

But  while  I  feel  that  it  is  quite  uncertain  whether  I  shall 
ever  be  able  to  do  anything  about  such  a  school  personally — (and 
do  not  wish  any  one  to  know  that  I  have  ever  had  it  in  any  way 
before  my  mind  at  present)  I  am  growing  daily  more  and  more 
desirous  that  some  one  should  somewhere  undertake  such  an 
enterprise — 

I  think  it  would  add  much  to  all  that  sJiould  conduce  to  make 
this  one  of  the  noblest  states  in  the  Union  or  in  the  world  in 
every  department  of  human  life  and  interest — 

I  have  just  now  for  the  fii*st  time  received  a  letter  from 
Father  Kingsbury — since  he  went  cast,  I  shall  write  him  and  lay 
the  outline  of  this  plan  before  him — and  see  what  he  says  to  it — 
end  if  he  will  advance  funds  for  such  an  establishment  I  wish  him 
to  nominate  the  man  to  fill  it  ivlien  ivliere  lioiv  and  as  he  pleases. 
I  wish  the  old  gentleman  not  to  suspect  in  the  least  that  I  have 
ever  been  thought  of  for  a  candidate — so  that  he  may  feel  vv'holly 
unimbarrassed  if  he  chooses  to  do  anything. 

I  have  never  seen  him  but  few  times,  and  I  think  it  more 
thi  n  probable  he  may  have  personal  friends  whom  he  would  like 
to  feel  free  to  propose — I  believe  he  would  be  in  favor  of  locating 
near  your  college  if  near  any  one  in  this  State — But  whether 
he  will  do  anvthing  is  all  uncertain — 


Document  Number  2. 

' '  Industrial  Universities  for  the  People ' '  was  published  in  1853  in 
circular  form.  It  included  a  reprint  of  "A  Plan  for  an  Industrial  Uni- 
versity for  the  State  of  Illinois"  published  in  1851  following  the  Gran- 
ville meeting;  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  state;  a  memorial  of  the 
second  convention  to  the  legislature;  accounts  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth 
conventions;  memorial  of  the  fourth  convention;  resolutions  of  the  legis- 
lature; and  extracts  from  the  press. 


Please  Read  and  Circulate. 
INDUSTRIAL  UNIVERSITIES 

FOR  THE  PEOPLE. 

PUBLISHED  IN  COMPLIANCE  WITH  RESOLUTIONS  OF 

THE  CHICAGO  AND  SPRINGFIELD  CONVENTIONS. 

AND  UNDER  THE 

INDUSTRIAL  LEAGUE 

OF  ILLINOIS. 


BY  J.  B.  TURNER, 
CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  COMMITTEE. 


JACKSONVILLE: 

PRINTED  AT  THE  MORGAN  JOURNAL  BOOK  AND  JOB  OFFICE. 

1853. 


366  Ilistonj  Vnivcrsitij  of  Illinois 

PREFACE 

Tho  reasons  for  proffering  this  pamphlet  to  the  public  will  be  found  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  Industrial  Conventions,  held  at  Chicago  in  1852, 
and  in  Springfield,  1853.  But  while  the  author  has  endeavored  to  comply  with 
the  general  wish  expressed  by  these  conventions,  and  the  Directors  of  the 
Illinois  Industrial  League,  it  should  not  bo  inferred  that  any  friends  of 
those  conventions  or  of  the  League  are  responsible  for  the  particular  state- 
ments or  sentiments  herein  expressed.  In  all  these  incidental  matters,  the 
author  alone  is  responsible,  as  it  was  found  impracticable  before  publica- 
tion to  secure  even  a  revision  by  the  committee,  which,  had  it  been  possible, 
was  greatly  to  bo  desired. 

It  will  also,  be  readily  seen  that  it  is  no  part  of  the  design  of  this  work, 
to  notice  the  many  and  great  improvements  and  excellencies  in  our  existing 
systems  of  education,  but  rather  to  call  attention  to  their  remaining  defects 
and  urge  these  as  a  reason  for  immediate  effort  and  action  in  the  direction 
indicated. 

For  a  plan  of  action  the  reader  will  please  refer  to  the  close  of  the 
pamphlet. 

INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION 

The  progress  which  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
especially  of  our  own  State,  are  continually  making  on  the  great 
subject  of  education,  must  be  gratifying  to  every  patriotic  and 
philanthropic  mind. 

This  progress  relates  to  the  ends,  instrumentalities 
and  MODES  of  all  mental  and  moral  culture,  and  is 
most  apparent  in  the  condition  of  our  best  Common  Schools — at 
once  the  pride  and  hope  of  our  country. 

The  END  of  all  education  should  be  the  development  of  a 
TRUE  MANHOOD,  or  the  natural,  proportionate  and  healthful 
culture  and  growth  of  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  human 
being — physical,  mental,  moral  and  social ;  and  any  system  which 
attempts  the  exclusive,  or  even  inordinate  culture  of  any  one  class 
of  these  faculties,  will  fail  of  its  end — it  will  make  mushrooms 
and  monks,  rather  than  manhood  and  men.  For  similar  reasons, 
any  system  of  education  adapted  to  the  exclusive  or  unequal  and 
inordinate  culture  of  any  one  class  or  profession  in  the  State,  is 
defective :  It  generates  clans  and  castes,  and  breaks  in  upon  that 
natural  order,  equality  and  harmony  which  God  has  ordained.  It 
will  create  a  concentration  of  intellectual  power  in  the  educated 
head  of  the  body  politic — cold,  crafty,  selfish  and  treacherous, 
which  ^\dll  sooner  or  later  corrupt  its  heart — will  exhaust  and 
overlabor  and  overtask  its  weak,  uncultured  and  undeveloped. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  367 

subordinate  powers  and  organs,  and  produce  a  bedlam  rather 
than  a  kingdom  on  earth — a  despotism  either  of  the  tyrant,  the 
church  or  the  mob,  or  of  all  these  combined ;  not  a  government. 

And  this  effect  will  inevitably  follow,  as  sure  as  God  lives  and 
reigns,  even  though  a  nation  write  its  soil  and  sea  over  with 
parchment,  declarations  and  manifestoes,  and  rend  air  and  sky 
with  clamorous  shouts  of  "Equality,  Liberty  and  Fraternity." 
"Be  not  deceived:  God  is  not  mocked."  "That  which  a  man 
soweth,  shall  he  also  reap." 

In  former  times  not  very  remote  from  our  own  day,  mere 
learning — book  knowledge —  scholasticism,  was  considered  the 
great  end  of  education,  and  all  such  systems  of  culture  direct  the 
mind  too  much  towards  books,  and  too  little  towards  facts.  The 
pupil  is  taught  to  think  of  letters  and  words  rather  than  of  things 
and  events — to  remember  on  what  part  of  the  book  page  he  saw 
the  form  of  words,  better  than  he  knows  on  what  part  of  the 
world's  page,  the  events  took  place,  if  at  all.  All  the  way  along, 
from  a — ^b,  ab,  and  long  a  in  hate,  and  a  seven  years'  war  at  spel- 
ling up  through  spelling  books,  granunars  and  dictionaries,  Eng- 
lish, Latin  and  Greek,  till  he  at  last  took  his  diploma,  it  was 
one  everlasting  agonism  at  verbiage,  as  though  God,  angels  and 
men — the  sky  above  and  the  earth  beneath,  were  all  moonshine ; 
and  spelling,  grammar,  talk — the  prime  proprieties  of  man's 
utterance  facile  and  precise — were  the  only  realities  in  the  uni- 
verse. A  real  grammar-school-boy  of  such  schools,  can  brave  no 
other  idea  than  that  God  made  the  world  dut  of  the  nine  parts  of 
speech,  and  in  English,  at  least,  spelled  it  all  wrong.  And  so 
throughout  the  whole  course,  books,  books,  books,  form  the  great 
staple  and  instruments  and  ends  of  culture ;  and  the  living  voice, 
speaking  of  living  facts  and  presenting  living  realities  to  the 
mind  of  the  pupil,  but  a  very  small  part  of  it.  By  such  methods 
the  mind  is  trained  to  undue  deference  to  the  authority  of  the 
book,  with  little  capacity  to  look  after  the  fact — and  men's  opin- 
ions and  usages,  instead  of  God's  laws  and  ordinances  govern 
the  world:  and  generally,  in  those  communities  where  this  mere 
book  learning  is  most  dominant,  the  minds  of  men  are  most 
depressed  and  enslaved  to  tyrant  custom.  For  example — com- 
pare Germany  and  England,  and  New  England  and  Illinois.   It 


368  History  University  of  Illinois 

engenders  an  undue  deference  to  mere  learned  authority,  a  spirit 
of  effeminate  timidity,  and  pedantic  sei-vility,  rather  than  one 
of  true  wisdom,  true  freedom,  and  tme  manhood,  such  as  has 
shown  in  prophets,  apostles  and  martyrs  of  every  age. 

It  does  not  produce  mind,  but  mere  learning — not  intellect, 
but  scholarship — not  thinkers,  but  plausible  and  sophistical  de- 
baters; SCHOOLMEN,  (as  of  old,)  who  can  prove  cither  side  of 
any  proposition,  but  not  real  men  who  can  discharge  the  hard 
side  of  every  single  duty. 

A  proper  remedy  for  such  a  state  of  things,  wherever  it 
may  be  found,  would,  of  course,  consist  in  drawing  our  resources 
of  culture,  loss  from  books  and  the  laws  of  verbiage,  and  more 
from  facts  and  the  laws  of  God.  Less  from  nature  distorted  into 
abstractions,  propositions,  prisms  and  triangles,  as  seen  in  ordi- 
nary books,  and  more  from  nature,  as  it  comes  all  radiant  and 
instinct  with  life,  beauty  and  glory  from  the  Hand  Divine.  What 
a  monstrosity  Avas  that  which  some  years  since  took  little  boys 
and  girls,  not  yet  seven  years  old,  out  of  God's  clear  sunshine, 
away  from  the  birds  and  the  breezes,  the  flowers  and  the  trees, 
and  set  them,  for  six  hours  in  the  day,  bolt  upright  on  a  wooden 
bench,  to  look  at  big  letters  and  triangles  made  of  cotton  rags  and 
lampblack ! ! — and  all  this,  only  to  educate  them ! ! ! 

Well,  this  absurdity  has  passed  away ;  and  all  others  similar 
to  it  are  fast  departing. 

But  the  great  instrumentalities  of  education  are  — the  fam- 
ily, the  SCHOOL,  the  church  and  the  state;  and  in 
order  to  the  best  results,  it  is  indispensable  that  order,  virtue, 
wisdom  and  freedom  should  direct,  pervade,  enlighten  and  con- 
trol each  and  all  these  several  departments  of  human  culture 
with  a  simultaneous  energy  and  power.  The  apostasy,  or  corrup- 
tion, or  perversion  of  any  one  of  these  is  sufficient  to  cripple  and 
distort,  if  not  to  utterly  annihilate  all  the  good  that  can  be  educed 
from  the  other  three.  The  vanity,  selfishness,  pride  and  vice  of 
the  household — the  pedantry  and  folly  of  the  school — the  bigotiy 
and  superstition  of  the  church,  or  the  tyranny  and  corruption  of 
the  State,  are,  each  one  of  them,  adequate  to  pei'vert  or  destroy,  in 
a  single  generation,  all  the  real  good  of  the  other  three,  if,  indeed, 
the  phenomena  of  the  existence  of  such  vices  in  either  quarter, 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  369 

does  not  show  a  previous  latent  corruption  in  all  departments 
alike.  Hence,  a  watchful  care  over  all  these  interests  alike,  is  as 
indispensable  to  the  proper  education  of  our  youth,  as  it  is  to 
their  after  security  in  life. 

But  in  the  narrow  and  pedantic  view  of  the  subject,  schools 
of  literature  and  science  are  usually  considered  the  great,  if  not 
the  sole  instruments  of  education ;  and  sometimes,  in  accordance 
with  this  view,  the  brain  or  the  mind,  the  mere  intellectual  pow- 
ers  of  man,  are  the  only  powers  really  sought  to  be  educated. 
Wherever  this  fatal  delusion  prevails,  the  necessary  result  must 
be  a  monstrosity,  not  a  manhood ;  a  monk,  rather  than  a  man ; 
and  it  will  be  found,  at  last,  to  give  the  world  pedants  and  petti- 
foggers for  priests  and  teachers,  rowdies  and  robbers  for  rulers, 
and  only  old  vices  under  new  names,  for  all  the  abandoned 
and  discarded  virtues  of  their  forefathers. 

This  pedantic  and  shallow  viev/  of  the  subject  of  education, 
also  leads  to  another  most  fatal  error  in  the  minds  of  both  the 
old  and  the  young.  Instead  of  regarding  education  as  the  great 
lifelong  process — the  great  life-business  of  every  human  being 
here  on  earth,  it  limits  it  to  the  quarter  days  of  the  school-room, 
and  calls  even  the  most  cori-upt,  effeminate,  useless  and  senseless 
of  men,  educated,  if,  forsooth,  they  have  overmastered  a  certain 
quantum  of  a  prescribed  course  of  mere  book-learning,  though 
turned  loose  upon  the  world  without  either  the  capacity  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  or  the  disposition  to  leave  the  best  interests 
of  their  fellows  untouched.* 


*Josiah  Holbrook,  in  the  "National  Era,"  of  June  16th,  states,  that 
"in  one  State's  prison  of  our  Union  are  twelve  graduates  of  colleges — a 
greater  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  convicts  in  one  prison,  than  the 
entire  numl>er  of  college  graduates  in  our  country  to  the  whole  population. 
Every  body  knows, ' '  says  he,  ' '  that  the  most  depraved  beings  in  our  country 
are  among  those  upon  whom  most  is  expended  for  their  education ;  and  that 
thieves,  midnight  assassins  and  incendiaries  have  come  from  our  schools 
by  hundreds  and  thousands. ' ' 

If  this  is  true,  and  other  prisons  show  similar  statistics,  the  whole  num- 
ber of  graduates  of  colleges  in  all  the  prisons,  must  exceed  the  relative 
proportion  furnished  to  the  same  honors  by  the  industrial  classes,  many  hun- 
dred per  cent. 

Does  not  this  denote  something  wrong  in  our  schemes  for  the  mere 
culture  of  the  tongue  and  the  brain?  But  suppose  all  who  have  been  under 
the  regimen  of  this  drill,  but  never  gi-aduated,  were  reported,  the  ratio 
would  be  even  more  frightfully  swollen,  and  we  should  find  that  no  class  of 


370  History  Univcr.'iHy  of  Illinois 

A  young  boy  or  girl,  under  this  idea,  obtains  a  smattering 
of  language,  literature  and  science,  perhaps,  in  the  schools,  and 
then,  forsooth,  as  it  is  very  pertinently  and  significantly  said, 
"he  has  finished  his  education."  It  is,  but  too  often,  strictly 
true ; — it  is  finished ;  and  all  tnie  manhood  has,  also,  been  cruci- 
fied in  the  process.  It  is  all  ended  with  him,  and  you  have  before 
you  your  plausible  sophist,  your  accomplished  idler,  or  your 
educated  hireling — another  relentless  donkey  to  hold  back  the 
great  car  of  social  and  moral  progress,  and  bray  at  every  new 
idea  that  da^^^ls  upon  the  world  for  the  good  of  man  and  the 
glory  of  God. 

But  motion — progress — is  the  law  of  matter  and  of  mind; 
and  all  civilization,  all  true  Christianity,  all  true  education  and  all 
true  manhood,  are  nothing  else  but  one  everlasting  progress  in 
true  knowledge,  wisdom  and  virtue. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  instruction  of  the  school  room  should 
be  constantly  based  upon  this  idea.  That  it  should  aim  to  put 
every  pupil  in  such  a  position  that  his  whole  life  aftenvards  may 
be  but  one  continuous,  natural  and  easy  progress  from  one  stage 
of  mental  and  moral  development  and  power  to  another.  Na- 
ture's order  and  God's  law,  when  observed,  is,  that  the  child 
should  become  the  youth,  the  youth  the  man,  the  man  the  angel ; 
and  so,  onward  and  upward  forever — ever  developing — ever  pro- 
persons  disgorge  so  great  an  annual  percent  into  our  prisons  and  almshouses 
and  the  drunkard's  ignoble  grave,  as  those  who  have  attempted  to  seek 
a  liberal  education,  while  under  our  more  rational  and  practical  common 
school  system,  in  which  practical  knowledge  is  sought  in  connexion  with 
domestic  duties  and  industrial  pursuits,  the  facts  are  exactly  the  reverse. 
Has  a  tree  that  bears  such  fruit,  true  Christianity,  or  heathen  mythology  at 
its  roots?  Is  practical  duty,  or  pedantic  display,  its  life  and  its  aim? 
The  fearful  loss  of  life  which  these  systems  of  monkish  and  distorted 
culture  annually  produce,  is  well  known  to  all.  But  the  annals  of  the 
crimes  and  criminals  it  has  generated,  is  a  chapter  in  our  history  not  yet 
fully  developed. 

Mr.  Bramwell,  an  English  writer  and  traveler,  is  reported  to  affirm  that 
the  universities  of  Great  Britian  have  contributed  more  to  the  pride,  aris- 
tocracy, vice  and  debauchery  of  the  empire,  and  furnished  more  sots  and 
penitentiary  criminals,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  than  any  other  class 
in  English  society. 

Did  the  schools  of  the  Carpenter  and  fishermen  of  Gallilee,  or  even  those 
of  Socrates  and  Plato  exhibit  such  results? 

Will  not  the  patrons  and  defenders  of  those  systems  of  education  answer  ? 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  371 

gressing,  but  never  finished.  A  true  process  of  education,  there  • 
fore,  can  never  stop ;  it  can  never  be  either  remitted  or  finished ; 
and  all  systems  of  scholastic  learning  constructed  on  that  idea, 
are  monkish,  preposterous,  delusive  and  false;  and  just  so  far 
forth,  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing  to  mankind,  ever  begetting  a 
spirit  of  pedantic  littleness,  frivolity  and  the  supercilious  pride 
of  a  conceited  monk  or  an  India  Brahman,  instead  of  that  brave, 
generous  and  steadfast  heroism  that  should  characterize  the  true 
man. 

It  is  self-evident  that  in  order  to  reach  this  end,  and  to  avoid 
these  antagonistic  evils,  our  systems  of  public  instruction  should 
all  have  due  reference  to  the  varied  employments  of  men  in  after 
life ;  so  that  each  class  may  be  placed  in  a  position  which  shall 
enable  them  to  develop  a  literature  of  their  own,  and  acquire  a 
mental  as  well  as  moral  discipline,  in  connection  with  their  own 
occupations,  interests  and  pursuits.  In  other  words,  the  effort 
should  be  to  make  each  man  an  intelligent,  thinking  man,  in  his 
own  profession  in  life,  rather  than  out  of  it ;  to  teach  him,  first, 
to  understand  his  own  business  rather  than  other  people 's.  Then 
he  will  be  better  able  to  govern  and  take  care  of  himself,  and  need 
less  expenditure  from  the  State  and  the  church  in  controlling  and 
taking  care  of  him. 

This  principle  has,  in  theory,  become  fully  recognized,  and 
applied  with  more  or  less  perfection  to  some  four  or  five  of  the 
varied  pursuits  of  men,  and  obviously,  ought  to  be  applied  in  the 
same  way  and  on  the  same  principle  to  them  all. 

The  divines,  the  lawyers,  the  physicians,  the  teachers,  and  the 
militaiy  men  of  our  countiy,  each  and  all,  have  their  specific 
schools,  libraries,  apparatus  and  universities,  for  the  application 
of  all  known  forms  of  knowledge  to  their  several  professions  in 
life.  Hence  the  surprising  intelligence  and  power  which  these 
classes  now  exhibit,  since  the  founding  of  universities  and  schools 
for  their  special  uses,  compared  with  that  manifested  by  the  same 
classes  in  the  times  of  the  monks,  barons,  quacks,  sclioolmen  and 
crusaders  of  the  middle  ages.  Hence  the  eloquence  and  power 
of  our  pulpits,  and  our  courts  and  senates — the  efficiency  of  our 
medical  and  military  skill. 

It  is  true  that  the  laws  of  God  are  everywhere,  and  to  all  per- 
sons and  classes,  the  same ;  and  that  all  science  is  based  upon  these 


372  History  University  of  Illinois 

uniform  laws ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  their  application  to  the 
pursuits  of  life,  and  the  consequent  natural  discipline  and  de- 
velopment of  mind  is  infinitely  various. 

No  man,  in  his  senses,  imagines  if  all  our  divines  had  been 
trained  at  West  Point,  all  our  laA\n>'ers,  physicians  and  generals 
at  Mount  Holyokc  or  Andover  or  Princeton,  that  there  would 
have  been  either  the  same  energy  of  effort  and  success,  or  the 
same  discipline  of  mind  in  these  professions  that  now  exist.  Skill, 
and  a  proper  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  projectiles — the  chainshot 
and  the  bombshell  will  hardly  make  a  divine ;  and  adroitness  with 
the  dishcloth  or  with  the  folios  of  the  fathers,  would  scarcely  have 
achieved  the  conquest  of  the  empire  of  the  Montezumas. 

So  far  forth  as  discipline  of  mind  is  concerned,  all  know  that 
the  greater  part  of  it  is  procured  in  all  these  professions,  not  at 
their  several  schools,  however  excellent  and  appropriate  in  them- 
selves, but  by  the  continued  habits  of  reading,  thought  and  re- 
flection, IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THEIR  SEVERAL  PROFESSIONAL  PUR- 
SUITS IN  AFTER  LIFE :  and  if  not  so  acquired,  it  is  never,  in  fact, 
acquired  at  all. 

The  young  graduate  from  all  these  schools,  alike,  is  generally 
pronounced  green,  raw,  undisciplined  and  sophomorical,  and 
shows  himself  to  be  so.  But  his  university  or  his  school  has  done 
one  thing  for  him  of  immense  value  and  importance,  and  only 
one:  it  has  neither  duly  informed  nor  disciplined  his  mind,  as 
is  sometimes  pretended ;  but  it  has  shown  him  how  that  mind 

CAN  BE  disciplined,  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  PROFESSIONAL  PUR- 
SUITS OF  HIS  AFTER  LIFE,  if  he  will  attend  to  it :  but  if  not,  it  can- 
not be.  This  is  the  most  that  universities  or  schools  of  any  sort 
can,  as  a  general  rule,  do  for  any  man;  they  give  him  a  start 
in  that  course,  which,  in  after  life,  he  is  to  pursue.  To  this  end,  the 
peculiar  literature  appropriate  to  each  of  these  professions,  is 
quite  as  important  as  the  universities  and  schools  which  created 
it :  for  as  a  general  rule,  men  will  not  read  and  reflect  on  subjects 
totally  disconnected  with  their  daily  duties  and  interests,  so  as 
to  derive  that  needful  discipline  of  mind,  from  other  pursuits, 
which  nature  teaches  should  be  derived  from  their  own. — Some 
few  minds,  it  is  true,  in  al  professions,  have  an  appetency  for  uni- 
versal knowledge,  just  as  some  men  seem  to  have  skill  in  universal 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  373 

art,  but  the  great  majority  of  men  obtain  all  the  real  discipline 
and  development  of  mind  which  they  ever  do  obtain,  in  immediate 
connexion  with  their  own  individual  pursuits  and  duties  in  life, 
and  not  outside  of  these. 

The  sun  which  they  see,  is  only  the  one  which  lightens  their 
own  world ;  and  from  this,  alone,  the  light  of  life  must  come  to 
them,  if  it  come  at  all :  all  beyond  is,  to  them,  starlight,  and  must 
remain  so  till  they  quit  their  present  sphere  of  action  and  duty. 

Now,  our  industrial  classes,  although  much  more  numerous 
than  all  the  others  combined,  are,  to  a  vast  extent,  to  say  the  least, 
alone,  of  all  others,  left  entirely  without  the  indispensable  means 
of  applying  this  same  knowledge  or  science  to  their  several 
pursuits,  to  teach  them,  also,  how  to  read,  obsei*ve  and  think, 
and  act  so  as  to  derive  this  same  needful  and  wholesome  mental 
discipline  from  their  pursuits  in  life,  which  the  professional  and 
military  classes  are  taught  to  derive  from  theirs.  Of  course,  they 
are  so  equally  destitute  of  the  needful  literature  for  such  ends, 
and  must,  of  necessity,  remain  so,  till  universities  are  endowed  for 
creating  it  in  the  same  way  it  has  been  created  for  others.  They 
are  all,  in  this  country  now,  so  far  as  appropriate  educational  and 
scientific  privileges  are  concerned,  where  the  professional  and 
military  classes,  themselves,  were,  in  the  days  of  the  monks  and 
schoolmen,  with  no  appropriate  schools,  apparatus,  or  teachers, 
or  literature  suited  to  the  proper  application  of  knowledge  to 
their  several  pursuits  and  callings. 

Is  it  said  that  farmers  and  mechanics  do  not  and  will  not 
read? 

Give  them  a  literature  and  an  education  then,  suited  to  their 
actual  wants,  and  see  if  it  does  not  reform  and  improve  them  in 
this  respect,  as  it  has  done  their  brethren  in  the  profesional 
classes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  know  they  now  have  no  such 
practical,  congenial  literature  to  read ;  and  still,  as  a  general  rule 
they  read  more,  and  know  more  about  the  proper  pursuits  of  the 
professional  classes,  than  those  classes  do  about  theirs,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  opportunities  they  have. 

Suppose  you  should  supply  the  libraries  of  the  divine  and 
the  lawyer  with  practical  treatises  on  the  raising  of  crops,  the  re- 
suscitation and  improvement  of  soils,  and  the  management  of 


374  History  Univcrsify  of  Illinois 

stock,  or  the  navigation  of  the  polar  seas,  instead  of  books  treat- 
ing of  the  peculiar  nature  and  duties  of  his  o\vii  profession,  does 
any  man  suppose  that  these  professions  would  exhibit  the  same 
love  of  reading  and  study,  or  attain  the  same  mental  discipline 
which  they  now  do  ?    The  idea  is  absurd. 

Give  a  divine  or  a  lawyer  a  book  on  agriculture,  and  how  soon 
it  is  thrown  aside !  And  is  it  surprising  that  the  fanner  and  me- 
chanic treats  other  books  on  the  same  principle,  and  in  the  same 
way,  for  the  same  reason  ?  But  how  greedily  they  devour,  in  all 
our  periodicals  and  pamphlets  the  few  scraps  that  directly  per- 
tain to  their  own  interests,  and  how  soon  new  implements  of  life 
and  power  start  up  from  their  practical  and  creative  minds  out  of 
every  new  idea  in  philosophy  that  dawns  upon  the  race  and 
claims  its  place  in  the  crystal  palaces,  and  its  reward  at  the 
industrial  fairs  of  the  world  ?  And  are  such  minds  on  this  great 
continent  to  be  longer  left,  by  the  million,  without  a  single  uni- 
versity or  school  of  any  sort,  adapted  to  the  peculiar  wants  of 
their  craft,  while  the  whole  energies  of  the  republic  are  taxed 
to  the  utmost  to  furnish  universities,  colleges  and  schools  adapted 
to  the  wants  of  the  professional  and  military  classes,  who  con- 
stitute not  the  one  hundredth  part  of  the  population,  and  repre- 
sent not  the  thousandth  part  of  the  vital  interests  of  any  civilized 
and  well  ordered  community  ? 

Are  these  pursuits,  then,  beneath  the  dignity  of  rational  and 
accountable  man  ?  God,  himself,  made  the  first  Adam  a  gardner 
or  farmer,  and  kept  him  so  till  he  fell  from  his  high  state.  The 
second  Adam,  sent  to  repair  the  ruin  of  his  fall,  he  made  a  poor 
mechanic  called  "the  son  of  a  carpenter,"  who  chose  all  his  per- 
sonal followers  from  the  same  humble  class.  Deity  has  pronounced 
his  opinion  on  the  dignity  and  value  of  these  pursuits,  by  the 
repeated  acts  of  his  wisdom  and  grace,  as  well  as  by  the  inflexible 
laws  of  his  providence  compelling  industrial  labor  as  the  only 
means  of  preserving  health  of  body,  vigor,  purity  of  mind  and 
even  life  itself. 

Where  did  Socrates,  the  wisest  of  the  Greeks,  and  Cincin- 
natus,  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Romans — Washington,  the  fa- 
ther of  America,  and  Franklin,  and  Sherman,  and  Kossuth,  and 
Downing,  and  Hugh  Miller,  and  a  whole  host  of  worthies,  too 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  375 

numerous  to  mention,  get  their  education  ?  They  derived  it  from 
their  connexion  with  the  practical  pursuits  of  life,  where  all  other 
men  have  got  theirs,  so  far  forth  as  it  has  proved  of  any  practical 
use  to  themselves  or  the  world. 

What  we  want  from  schools  is,  to  teach  men,  more  dull  of 
apprehension,  to  derive  their  mental  and  moral  strength  from 
their  own  pursuits,  whatever  they  are,  in  the  same  way,  and  on 
the  same  principles,  and  to  gather  from  other  sources  as  much 
more  as  they  find  time  to  achieve.  We  wish  to  teach  them  to 
read  books,  only  that  they  may  the  better  read  and  understand 
the  great  volume  of  nature,  ever  open  before  them. 

Can,  then,  no  schools  and  no  literature,  suited  to  the  pe- 
culiar wants  of  the  industrial  classes,  be  created  by  the  applica- 
tion of  science  to  their  pursuits?  Has  God  so  made  the  world, 
that  peculiar  schools,  peculiar  applications  of  science,  and  a  pe- 
culiar resultant  literature  are  found  indispensable  to  the  highest 
success  in  the  art  of  killing  men,  in  all  states,  while  nothing  of 
the  kind  can  be  based  on  the  infinitely  multifarious  arts  and  pro- 
cesses of  feeding,  clothing  and  housing  them?  Are  there  no 
sufficient  materials  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  highest  mental  and 
moral  discipline  in  immediate  connexion  with  these  pursuits? 
This  is  to  suppose  that  God  has  condemned  the  vast  majority  of 
mankind  to  live  in  circumstances  in  which  the  best  and  highest 
development  of  their  noblest  faculties  is  a  sheer  impossibility, 
unless  they  turn  aside  from  those  spheres  of  duty  to  which  his 
Providence  has  evidently  consigned  them.  Such  an  assumption 
is  as  pedantic  and  shallow  as  it  is  wicked  and  blasphemous.  For 
what,  but  for  this  very  end  of  intellectual  discipline  and  devel- 
opment, has  God  bound  the  daily  labors  of  all  these  sons  of  toil 
in  the  shop  and  on  the  farm,  in  close  and  incessant  contact  with 
all  the  mighty  mysteries  of  his  own  creative  -wisdom,  as  displayed 
in  heaven  above,  and  on  earth  beneath,  and  in  the  waters  and 
soils  that  are  under  the  earth?  Why  are  there  more  recondite 
and  profound  principles  of  pure  mathematics  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  sailing  of  a  ship,  or  the  moulding  and  driving  of 
a  plow,  or  an  axe,  or  a  jack-plane,  than  with  all  three  of  the 
so  called,  learned  professions  together,  if  it  be  not  intended  that 
those  engaged  in  these  pursuits  should  derive  mental  culture  as 


376  History  University  of  Illinois 

well  as  bodily  sustenance  and  strength  from  these  instruments  of 
their  art  and  their  toil?  Why  has  God  linked  the  light,  the  dew 
drop,  the  clouds,  the  sunshine  and  the  storm,  and  concentrated 
tho  mighty  powers  of  the  earth,  the  ocean  and  the  sky,  directed 
by  that  unknown  and  mysterious  force  which  rolls  the  spheres, 
and  arms  the  thunder-cloud — why  are  all  these  mystic  and  potent 
influences  connected  with  the  growing  of  every  plant,  and  the 
opening  of  every  flowxr,  the  motion  of  every  engine  and  eveiy  im- 
plement, if  he  did  not  intend  that  each  son  and  daughter  of 
Adam's  race  should  learn  through  the  handicraft  of  their  daily 
toil,  to  look  through  nature  up  to  nature's  God,  trace  his  deep 
designs,  and  derive  their  daily  mental  and  moral  culture,  as 
well  as  their  daily  food,  from  that  toil  that  is  ever  encircled 
and  circumscribed  on  all  hands,  by  the  unfathomed  energies 
of  his  wisdom  and  his  power?  "No  foundation  for  the  de- 
velopment and  culture  of  a  high  order  of  science  and  literature, 
and  the  noblest  capacities  of  mind,  heart  and  soul,  in  connexion 
with  the  daily  employments  of  the  industrial  classes !  How  came 
such  a  heathenish  and  apostate  idea  ever  to  get  abroad  in  the 
world?  Was  God  mistaken  when  he  first  placed  Adam  in  the 
garden,  instead  of  the  academy?  or  when  he  sentenced  him  to 
toil  for  his  future  salvation,  instead  of  giving  him  over  to  ab- 
stract contemplation  ?  when  he  made  his  Son  a  carpenter  instead 
of  a  rabbi?  Or  when  he  made  man  a  man  instead  of  a  monk? 
No:  God's  ways  are  ever,  ways  of  wisdom  and  truth;  but  Satan 
has,  in  all  ages,  continued  to  put  darkness  for  light — sophistry 
and  cant ;  for  knowledge  and  truth — cunning  and  verbiage,  for 
wisdom  and  virtue — tyranny  and  outrage,  for  government  and 
law — and  to  fill  the  world  with  brute  muscles  and  bones,  in  one 
class — luxurious,  insolent  and  useless  nerves  and  brains,  in 
another  class,  without  either  bodies  or  souls,  and  to  call  the  pro- 
cess by  which  the  result,  in  the  latter  case,  is  reached,  education. 
And  from  the  possibility  of  such  an  education  as  this,  God  has, 
in  his  mercy,  hitherto  sheltered  his  defenseless  poor.  And  if  such 
hot-bed  processes  are,  alone,  to  be  dignified  with  the  name  of 
education,  then,  it  is  clearly  impossible  that  the  laboring  classes 
should  ever  be  educated:  God  has  interdicted  it.  Or,  even  if 
no  other  system  of  education  is  ever  to  be  devised  or  attempted, 
except  that  alone  which  is  most  fit  for  the  professional  and  the 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  377 

militar}'  man,  it  is  equally  clear  that  this  cannot  be  made  avail- 
able to  any  considerable  portion  of  the  industrial  classes. 

But  the  idea  has  got  abroad  in  the  world,  that  some  practi- 
cal, liberal  system  of  education  for  the  industrial  classes,  suited 
at  once  to  their  circumstances  and  their  wants,  can  be  devised, 
and  this  idea  is  not  likely  soon  to  be  stopped ;  it  seems  to  work 
beneath  the  surface  of  human  thought  with  the  energy  of  a  vol- 
canic fire,  and  we  think  it  will  soon  burst  forth,  into  an  out-birth 
to  purify  what  is  good,  and  overwhelm  and  annihilate  whatever 
there  may  be  that  is  evil  in  our  present  educational  ideas  and 
processes. 

In  order  to  excite  a  proper  interest  in  this  department  of  ed- 
ucation, the  public  are  already  aware  that  several  conventions 
have  been  held  in  this  State. 

The  first  convention  was  held  at  Granville,  Putnam  County, 
November  18th,  1851. 

The  report  of  this  convention  was,  in  due  time,  published  by 
the  committee  and  presented  to  the  public.  It  has  since  been 
reprinted,  and  commented  upon  in  nearly  all  the  leading  agri- 
cultural and  horticultural  journals  of  the  several  States,  and  es- 
pecially those  of  the  North  and  West.  It  was  also  copied  into  the 
patent  office  reports  at  Washington,  and  has  received  the  favor- 
able regard  of  nearly  all  the  leading  minds  in  the  agricultural 
and  mechanical  classes,  and  their  associations  and  institutes 
throughout  the  Union.  While  great  numbers  of  addresses,  res- 
olutions, reports,  and  newspaper  and  periodical  articles — all  aim- 
ing to  elucidate  the  same  general  idea,  have  been  presented  to  the 
public,  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  showing  that  this  is  the  great 
felt  want  of  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  nation. 

This  report  was  as  follows : 


378  History  Universili/  of  IUi)ioi.s 

PROCEEDINGS 

OF    THE 

FARMERS'  CONVENTION  AT  GRANVILLE, 
Held  November  18,  1851. 


In  accordance  with  previous  notice,  a  convention  of  farmers 
was  held  at  Granville,  Putnam  county,  on  Tuesday,  the  18th 
day  of  November,  1851.  The  attendance  Avas  quite  large,  and 
from  various  parts  of  the  State. 

The  convention  organized  by  appointing  Hon.  Oaks  Turner, 
of  Hennepin,  Chairman  pro  tem.,  and  Mr.  M.  Osman,  of  Ottawa, 
Secretary  pro  tem. 

Mr.  Ralph  Ware  moved  that  a  committee  of  three  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  chair  to  nominate  permanent  officers  for  the  con- 
vention ;  which  was  agreed  to ;  whereupon  the  chair  appointed 
Messrs.  Ralph  Ware,  John  Hise  and  Sidney  Pulsifer  said  com- 
mittee. 

The  committee,  after  a  few  minutes  absence,  returned  and 
reported  the  following  persons  as  pennanent  officers  of  the  con- 
vention : 

Hon.  Oaks  Turner,  President. 

Hon.  Wm.  Reddick,  of  Ottawa,  and  Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of 
Jacksonville,  Vice  Presidents. 

Mr.  M.  Osman,  Recording  Secretary. 

Mr.  Ralph  Ware,  of  Granville,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

On  motion  the  report  was  adopted  and  the  committee  dis- 
charged. 

The  President  then  stated  that  he  was  not  fully  advised  as  to 
the  real  objects  of  the  convention,  and  suggested  that  some  one 
better  qualified  should  make  them  known. 

Mr.  Ware  then  stated  that,  according  to  the  call,  they  had 
met  to  take  into  consideration  such  measures  as  might  be  deemed 
most  expedient  to  further  the  interests  of  the  agricultural  com- 
munity, and  particularly  to  take  steps  toward  the  establishment 
of  an  Agricultural  University. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  879 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Greble,  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed 
to  report  business  upon  which  the  convention  should  act.  The 
committee  consisted  of  Mr.  John  Greble,  Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  and 
Mr.  Lewis  "Weston. 

During  the  absence  of  this  committee,  short  addresses  were 
delivered  by  Messrs.  Hise,  Greble,  Ware  and  others. 

The  committee  returned  and  stated  that  they  would  not  be 
fully  prepared  to  report  before  evening ;  and  suggested  that  the 
afternoon  be  devoted  to  a  general  discussion  of  such  subjects, 
pertaining  to  agriculture,  as  might  present  themselves. 

A  lively  discussion  was  then  commenced  on  various  subjects, 
in  which  Powell,  of  Mt.  Palatine,  Butler,  of  Spoon  River,  Greble, 
of  Putnam  co.,  Weston,  of  La  Salle  co.,  Gilmer,  of  Granville, 
Reddick,  of  Ottawa,  and  others  participated. 

After  which  the  convention  adjourned  until  half  past  six 
0  'clock  in  the  evening. 


Evening  Session 
The  convention  was  called  to  order  by  the  chairman. 
Prof.  Turner,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Business, 

reported  the  following  resolutions  for  the  future  action  of  the 

convention : 

Resolved,  That  we  greatly  rejoice  in  the  degree  of  perfection 
to  which  our  various  institutions,  for  the  education  of  our  breth- 
ren engaged  in  professional,  scientific,  and  literary  pursuits,  have 
already  attained,  and  in  the  mental  and  moral  elevation  which 
those  institutions  have  given  them,  and  their  consequent  prepara- 
tion and  capacity  for  the  great  duties  in  the  spheres  of  life  in 
which  they  are  engaged ;  and  that  we  will  aid  in  all  ways  consist- 
ent, for  the  still  greater  perfection  of  such  institutions. 

Resolved,  That  as  the  representatives  of  the  industrial 
classes,  including  all  cultivators  of  the  soil,  artisans,  mechanics 
and  merchants,  we  desire  the  same  privileges  and  advantages  for 
ourselves,  our  fellows  and  our  posterity,  in  each  of  our  several 
pursuits  and  callings,  as  our  professional  brethren  enjoy  in 
theirs ;  and  we  admit  that  it  is  our  own  fault  that  we  do  not  also 
enjoy  them. 


380  History  University  of  Illinois 

Resolved,  That,  in  our  o])inion,  the  institutions  originally 
and  primarily  designed  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  professional 
classes  as  such,  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things,  meet  ours,  no 
more  than  the  institutions  we  desire  to  establish  for  ourselves 
could  meet  theirs.    Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  take  immediate  measures  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  University,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  expressly  to  meet 
those  felt  wants  of  each  and  all  the  industrial  classes  of  our  State ; 
that  we  recommend  the  foundation  of  high  schools,  lyceums,  in- 
stitutes, &c.,  in  each  of  our  counties,  on  similar  principles,  so 
soon  as  they  may  find  it  practicable  so  to  do. 

Resolved,  That  in  our  opinion  such  institutions  can  never 
impede,  but  must  greatly  promote,  the  best  interests  of  all  those 
existing  institutions. 

After  reading  the  above  resolutions,  Prof.  Turner  proceeded, 
in  an  able  and  interesting  manner,  to  unfold  his  plan  for  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  the  Industrial  University, 

The  convention  then  adjourned  till  9  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning. 


Wednesday  Morning,  Nov.  19. 

Met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

On  motion,  the  resolutions  were  again  taken  up  and  read, 
and,  after  some  deliberation,  severally  adopted. 

Mr.  Hise  offered  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  of  the  general  plan  for  an  Illi- 
nois State  University  for  the  Industrial  Classes,  presented  by 
Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  and  request  him  to  furnish  the  outlines  of  his 
plan,  presented  to  this  Convention,  to  the  Committee  of  Publica- 
tion, for  publication  in  the  Prairie  Farmer,  and  all  other  papers 
in  this  State  w-hich  will  publish  the  same ;  and  that  one  thousand 
copies  be  published  in  pamphlet  form  for  gratuitous  distribution. 

Resolved,  That  W.  A.  Pennell,  M.  Osman,  L.  L.  Bullock  and 
Ralph  Ware,  be  a  Committee  of  Publication. 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of  Publication  forward  to 
each  editor  in  every  county  in  the  State  a  copy  of  the  publica- 


Industrial  Universities  for  tlie  People  381 

tions  of  this  convention,  with  a  request  that  they  should  republish 
the  same ;  and,  also,  send  a  copy  to  our  Governor,  Senators  and 
Representatives  and  State  Officers,  and  to  all  others  who  may  be 
interested  in  the  same. 

Resolved,  That  each  member  of  this  convention  do  all  in  his 
power  to  promote  the  circulation  and  reading  of  the  above  publi- 
cations, and  through  this  and  other  means,  to  secure,  as  far  as 
practicable,  speakers  to  lecture  on  the  subject  in  each  of  the 
counties  in  the  State. 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  J.  B.  Turner  and  Marcus  Morton,  of 
Morgan  county;  James  McConnell,  Elijah  lies,  and  David  L. 
Gregg,  of  Sangamon  co, ;  John  Davis,  of  Decatur ;  John  Woods, 
of  Quincy ;  John  Hise,  of  La  Salle  eo. ;  Aaron  Shaw,  of  Lawrence 
CO. ;  John  Dougherty,  of  Union  co. ;  L.  S.  Pennington,  of  White- 
side CO. ;  W.  J.  Phelps,  of  Elm  Wood,  Peoria  co. ;  and  Dr.  Ames, 
of  Winnebago  co.,  be  a  Central  Committee  to  call  a  State  Con- 
vention, to  meet  at  Springfield  at  an  early  hour  of  the  next  ses- 
sion of  the  Legislature,  or  at  such  other  time  and  place  as  they 
and  the  friends  of  the  cause  may  deem  most  expedient. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  earnestly  solicit  the  Gover- 
nor of  this  State  to  enumerate  in  the  call  for  an  extra  session  of 
the  Legislature,  should  one  be  held  before  the  next  regular  ses- 
sion, the  objects  of  this  convention  in  the  establishment  of  an 
Industrial  University,  as  business  to  be  acted  upon  by  that  body 
at  that  time. 

Resolved,  That  a  memorial  and  petitions  be  prepared  and 
furnished  by  the  publishing  committee  for  the  purpose  of  peti- 
tioning the  Legislature  upon  this  subject. 

During  the  discussion  of  these  resolutions  the  Convention 
adjourned  till  1  o'clock,  P.  M. 


Afternoon  Session. 

Met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

Mr.  Hise's  resolutions  were  again  taken  up  and  severally 
passed. 


382  Hiatury  Universify  of  Illinois 

Mr.  Lofflin  introduced  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  solicit  the  people  of  this  State 
to  meet  in  their  primary  assemblies  and  discuss  the  objects  of  this 
convention  as  shall  be  made  known  by  our  published  proceedings, 
and  join  with  us  in  asking  the  Legislature  to  grant  to  the  people 
of  this  State,  the  fund  which  belongs  to  them,  to  aid  them  in  es- 
tablishing an  institute  for  the  industrial  classes  of  this  State, 
instead  of  dividing  that  fund  among  the  different  colleges,  now  in 
the  State,  as  contemplated  by  those  institutions. 

In  compliance  with  a  request  made  by  Mr.  Thomas  Ware, 
and  others.  Prof.  Turner  gave  a  short  history  of  a  number  of 
experiments  he  had  made  in  reference  to  the  blight  upon  fruit 
trees. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  sine  die. 

M.  OsMAN,  Sec  'y.  OAKS  TURNER,  Pres  H. 


PLAN  FOR  AN  INDUSTRIAL  UNIVERSITY, 
FOR  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS. 


To  THE  Committee  of  Publication  of  the  Granville  Convention: 

Gentlemen: — I  have  endeavored  to  prepare  an  outline  of  my  views  of 
an  Industrial  University  for  the  State  of  Illinois,  as  perfect  as  the  short 
time  allowed  me,  and  my  own  feeble  health  would  permit.  Notwithstanding 
my  total  inability  to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  I  trust  you  may  find  it 
useful  in  directing  the  mind  of  the  people  of  this  State  to  the  most  impor- 
tant interest  ever  proposed  for  their  consideration,  and  in  eliciting  from 
them  an  early  and  intelligent  expression  of  their  views  and  wishes  in  regard 
to  it. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen,  most  respectfully,  yours, 
Jacksonville,  November,  1851.  J.  B.  TUENEB. 


All  civilized  society  is,  necessarily,  divided  into  two  distinct 
cooperative, not  antagonistic, classes: — a  small  class, whose  proper 
business  it  is  to  teach  the  true  principles  of  religion,  law,  med- 
icine, science,  art,  and  literature ;  and  a  much  larger  class,  who  are 
engaged  in  some  form  of  labor  in  agriculture,  commerce,  and  the 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  383 

arts.  For  the  sake  of  convenience,  we  will  designate  the  former 
the  Professional,  and  the  latter  the  Industrial  class ;  not  im- 
plying that  each  may  not  be  equally  industrious :  the  one  in  their 
intellectual,  the  other  in  their  industrial  pursuits.  Probably,  in 
no  case  would  society  ever  need  more  than  five  men  out  of  one 
hundred  in  the  professional  class,  leaving  ninety-five  in  every 
hundred  in  the  industrial ;  and,  so  long  as  so  many  of  our  ordi- 
nary teachers  and  public  men  are  taken  from  the  industrial  class, 
as  there  are  at  present,  and  probably  will  be  for  generations  to 
come,  we  do  not  really  need  over  one  professional  man  for  every 
hundred,  leaving  ninety-nine  in  the  industrial  class. 

The  vast  difference,  in  the  practical  means,  of  an  appro- 
priate LIBERAL  EDUCATION,  suitcd  to  their  wants  and  their 
destiny,  which  these  two  classes  enjoy,  and  ever  have  en- 
joyed the  world  over,  must  have  arrested  the  attention  of  every 
thinking  man.  True,  the  same  general  abstract  science  exists 
in  the  world  for  both  classes  alike;  but  the  means  of  bringing 
this  abstract  truth  into  effectual  contact  with  the  daily  business 
and  pursuits  of  the  one  class  does  exist,  while  in  the  other  case 
it  does  not  exist,  and  never  can  till  it  is  new  created. 

The  one  class  have  schools,  seminaries,  colleges,  universities, 
apparatus,  professors,  and  multitudinous  appliances  for  edu- 
cating and  training  them  for  months  and  years,  for  the  peculiar 
profession  which  is  to  be  the  business  of  their  life ;  and  they  have 
already  created,  each  class  for  its  own  use,  a  vast  and  voluminous 
literature,  that  would  well  nigh  sink  a  whole  navy  of  ships. 

But  where  are  the  universities,  the  apparatus,  the  profes- 
sors, and  the  literature,  specifically  adapted  to  any  one  of  the  in- 
dustrial classes  ?  Echo  answers,  where  ?  In  other  words,  society 
has  become,  long  since,  wise  enough  to  know  that  its  teachers 
need  to  be  educated;  but  it  has  not  yet  become  -wise  enough  to 
know  that  its  v^orkers  need  education  just  as  much.  In  these 
remarks  I  have  not  forgotten  that  our  common  schools  are  equally 
adapted  and  applied  to  all  classes ;  but  reading,  writing,  &c.,  are, 
properly,  no  more  education  than  gathering  seed  is  agriculture, 
or  cutting  ship  timber  navigation.  They  are  the  mere  rudiments, 
as  they  are  called,  or  means,  the  mere  instrument  of  an  after  edu- 
cation, and  if  not  so  used  they  are,  and  can  be,  of  little  more  use 


384  History  University  of  Illinois 

to  the  possessor  than  an  axe  in  the  garret  or  a  ship  rotting  upon 
the  stocks. 

Nor  am  I  unmindful  of  the  efforts  of  the  monarchs  and  aris- 
tocrats of  the  old  world  in  founding  schools  for  the  ''fifteenth 
cousins"  of  their  order,  in  hopes  of  training  them  into  a  sort 
of  genteel  farmers,  or  rather  overseers  of  farmers;  nor  yet,  of 
the  several  "back  fires"  (as  the  Prairie  Fanner  significantly 
designates  them)  set  by  some  of  our  older  professional  institu- 
tions, to  keep  the  rising  and  blazing  thought  of  the  industrial 
masses  from  burning  too  furiously.  They  have  hauled  a  canoe 
alongside  of  their  huge  professional  steamships  and  invited  all 
the  farmers  and  mechanics  of  the  State  to  jump  on  board  and 
sail  with  them ;  but  the  difficulty  is,  they  will  not  embark.  But 
we  thank  them  even  for  this  pains  and  courtesy.  It  shows  that 
their  hearts  are  yearning  toward  us,  notwithstanding  the  ludi- 
crous awkwardness  of  their  first  endeavors  to  save  us. 

But  an  answer  to  two  simple  questions  will  perhaps  suffi- 
ciently indicate  our  ideas  of  the  whole  subject,  though  that  an- 
swer, on  the  present  occasion,  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  a 
bare  outline.    The  first  question,  then,  is  this : 

I.  What  do  the  Industrial  Classes  Want? 

II.  How  CAN  THAT  WANT  BE  SUPPLIED? 

The  first  question  may  be  answered  in  few  words.  They 
want,  and  they  ought  to  have,  the  same  facilities  for  understand- 
ing the  true  philosophy — the  science  and  the  art  of  their  sev- 
eral pursuits,  (their  life-business,)  and  of  efficiently  applying 
existing  knowledge  thereto  and  widening  its  domain,  which  the 
professional  classes  have  long  enjoyed  in  their  pursuits. — Their 
first  labor  is  therefore,  to  supply  a  vacuum  from  fountains  al- 
ready full,  and  bring  the  living  waters  of  knowledge  within  their 
own  reach.  Their  second  is,  to  help  fill  the  fountains  with  still 
greater  supplies.  They  desire  to  depress  no  institution,  no  class 
whatever;  they  only  wish  to  elevate  themselves  and  their  pur- 
suits to  a  position  in  society  to  which  all  men  acknowledge  they 
are  justly  entitled,  and  to  which  they  also  desire  to  see  them 
aspire. 

II.      How  THEN  CAN  THAT  WANT  BE  SUPPLIED? 

In  answering  this  question,  I  shall  endeavor  to  present,  with 


Industrial  Universities  for  tlie  People  385 

all  possible  frankness  and  clearness,  the  outline  of  impressions 
and  convictions  that  have  been  gradually  deepening  in  my  owm 
mind,  for  the  past  twenty  years,  and  let  them  pass  for  whatever 
the  true  friends  of  the  cause  may  think  them  worth. 

And  I  answer,  first,  negatively,  that  this  want  cannot  be 
supplied  by  any  of  the  existing  institutions  for  the  profes- 
sional classes,  nor  by  any  incidental  appendage  attached  to  them 
as  a  mere  secondary  department. 

These  institutions  were  designed  and  adapted  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  professional  classes,  as  such — especially  the  clerical 
order;  and  they  are  no  more  suited  to  the  real  wants  of  the 
industrial  class  than  the  institution  we  propose  for  them,  would 
be  suited  to  the  professional  class. 

Their  whole  spirit  and  aim  is,  or  should  be,  literary  and 
intellectual — not  practical  and  industrial ;  to  make  men  of  books 
and  ready  speech — not  men  of  work,  and  industrial,  silent 
thought.  But  the  very  best  classical  scholars  are  often  the  very 
worst  practical  reasoners ;  and  that  they  should  be  made  workers 
is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  things — the  fixed  laws  of  God.  The 
whole  interest,  business,  and  destiny  for  life  of  the  two  classes, 
run  in  opposite  lines ;  and  that  the  same  course  of  study  should  be 
equally  well  adapted  to  both,  is  as  utterly  impossible  as  that  the 
same  pursuits  and  habits  should  equally  concern  and  befit  both 
classes. 

The  industrial  classes  know  and  feel  this,  and  therefore  they 
do  not,  and  will  not,  patronize  these  institutions,  only  so  far 
forth  as  they  desire  to  make  professional  men  for  public  use. 
As  a  general  fact,  their  own  multitudes  do,  and  ivill  forever,  stand 
aloof  from  them  ;  and,  while  they  desire  to  foster  and  cherish  them 
for  their  own  appropriate  uses,  they  know  that  they  do  not,  and 
cannot,  fill  the  sphere  of  their  own  urgent  industrial  wants.  They 
need  a  similar  system  of  liberal  education  for  their  own  class,  and 
adapted  to  their  own  pursuits ;  to  create  for  them  an  Industrial 
Literature,  adapted  to  their  professional  wants,  to  raise  up  for 
them  teachers  and  lecturers,  for  subordinate  institutes,  and  to 
elevate  them,  their  pursuits,  and  their  posterity  to  that  relative 
position  in  human  society  for  which  God  designed  them. 


386  History  rnivcrsifn  of  Illinois 

The  whole  history  of  education,  both  in  Protestant  and  Cath- 
olic countries,  shows  that  we  must  begin  with  the  higher  insti- 
tutions, or  we  can  never  succeed  with  the  lower;  for  the  plain 
i-eason,  that  neither  knowledge  nor  water  will  run  up  hill.  No 
people  ever  had,  or  ever  can  have,  any  system,  of  common  schools 
and  lower  seminaries  worth  anything,  until  they  first  founded 
their  higher  institutions  and  fountains  of  knowledge  from  which 
they  could  draw  supplies  of  teachers,  &c.,  for  the  lower.  We 
would  begin,  therefore,  where  all  experience  and  common  sense 
show  that  we  must  begin,  if  we  would  effect  anything  worthy  of 
an  effort. 

In  this  view  of  the  case,  the  first  thing  wanted  in  this  pro- 
cess, is  a  National  Institute  of  Science,  to  operate  as  the  great 
central  luminary  of  the  national  mind,  from  which  all  minor  in- 
stitutions should  derive  light  and  heat,  and  toward  which  they 
should,  also,  reflect  back  their  own.  This  primary  want  is  al- 
ready, I  trust,  supplied  by  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  endowed  by 
James  Smithson,  and  incorporated  by  the  U.  S.  Congress,  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 

To  co-operate  with  this  noble  Institute,  and  enable  the  Indus- 
trial classes  to  realize  its  benefits  in  practical  life,  we  need  a 
University  for  the  Industrial  Classes  in  each  of  the  States,  with 
their  consequent  subordinate  institutes,  lyceums,  and  high 
schools,  in  each  of  the  counties  and  towns. 

The  objects  of  these  institutes  should  be  to  apply  existing 
knowledge  directly  and  efficiently  to  all  practical  pursuits  and 
professions  in  life,  and  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  our  present 
knowledge  in  all  possible  practical  directions. 


PLAN  FOR  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY. 

There  should  be  connected  with  such  an  institution,  in  this 
State,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  of  variable  soil  and  aspect, 
for  all  its  needful  annual  experiments  and  processes  in  the  great 
interests  of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture. 

Buildings  of  appropriate  size  and  construction  for  all  its 
ordinary  and  special  uses;  a  complete  philosophical,  chemical, 


Industrial  JJnivcrsilies  for  the  People  387 

anatomical,  and  industrial  apparatus;  a  general  cabinet,  em- 
bracing everything  that  relates  to,  illustrates,  or  facilitates  any 
one  of  the  industrial  arts;  especially  all  sorts  of  animals,  birds, 
reptiles,  insects,  trees,  shrubs,  and  plants  found  in  this  State  and 
adjacent  States. 

Instruction  should  be  constantly  given  in  the  anatomy  and 
physiology,  the  nature,  instincts  and  habits  of  all  animals,  insects, 
trees  and  plants;  their  laws  of  propogation,  primogeniture, 
growth,  and  decay,  disease  and  health,  life  and  death;  on  the 
nature,  composition,  adaptation,  and  regeneration  of  soils;  on 
the  nature,  strength,  durability,  preservation,  perfection,  compo- 
sition, cost,  use,  and  manufacture  of  all  materials  of  art  and 
trade;  on  political,  financial,  domestic,  and,  manual  economy,  (or 
the  saving  of  labor  of  the  hand,)  in  all  industrial  processes;  on 
the  true  principles  of  national,  constitutional,  and  civil  law ;  and 
the  true  theory  and  art  of  governing  and  controlling,  or  directing 
the  labor  of  men  in  the  State,  the  family,  shop,  and  farm ;  on 
the  laws  of  vicinage,  or  the  laws  of  courtesy  and  comity  between 
neighbors,  as  such,  and  on  the  principles  of  health  and  disease 
in  the  human  subject,  so  far  at  least  as  is  needful  for  household 
safety ;  on  the  laws  of  trade  and  commerce,  ethical,  conventional, 
and  practical ;  on  book-keeping  and  accounts ;  and  in  short,  in 
all  those  studies  and  sciences,  of  whatever  sort,  which  tend  to 
throw  light  upon  any  art  or  employment,  which  any  student  may 
desire  to  master,  or  upon  any  duty  he  may  be  called  to  perform  ; 
or  which  may  tend  to  secure  his  moral,  civil,  social  and  industrial 
perfection,  as  a  man. 

No  species  of  knowledge  should  be  excluded,  practical  or 
theoretical;  unless,  indeed,  those  specimens  of  "organized  igno- 
rance" found  in  the  creeds  of  party  politicians,  and  sectarian 
ecclesiastics  should  be  mistaken  by  some  for  a  species  of  know- 
ledge. 

Whether  a  distinct  classical  department  should  be  added  or 
not,  would  depend  on  expediency.  It  might  be  deemed  best  to 
leave  that  department  to  existing  colleges  as  their  more  appro- 
priate work,  and  to  form  some  practical  and  economical  connec- 
tion with  them  for  that  purpose:  or  it  might  be  best  to  attach 
a  classical  department  in  due  time  to  the  institution  itself. 


388  History  University  of  Illinois 

To  facilitate  the  increase  and  practical  application  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge,  the  professors  should  conduct,  each  in  his 
own  department,  a  continued  series  of  annual  experiments. 

For  example,  let  twenty  or  more  acres  of  each  variety  of 
grain,  (each  acre  accurately  measured,)  be  annually  sown,  with 
some  practical  variation  on  each  acre,  as  regards  the  quality  and 
preparation  of  the  soil,  the  kind  and  quantity  of  seed,  the  time 
and  mode  of  sowing  or  planting,  the  time  and  modes  and  pro- 
cesses of  cultivation  and  harvesting,  and  an  accurate  account  kept 
of  all  costs,  labor,  &c.,  and  of  the  final  results.  Let  analogous 
experiments  be  tried  on  all  the  varied  products  of  the  farm, 
the  fruit  yard,  the  nursery,  and  the  garden ;  on  all  modes  of  cross- 
ing, rearing  and  fattening  domestic  animals,  under  various  de- 
grees of  warmth  and  of  light,  with  and  \Anthout  shelter ;  on  green, 
dry,  raw,  ground,  and  cooked  food,  cold  and  warm ;  on  the  nature, 
causes ;  and  cure  of  their  various  diseases,  both  of  those  on  the 
premises  and  of  those  brought  in  from  abroad,  and  advice  given, 
and  annual  reports  made  on  those  and  all  similar  topics.  Let 
the  professors  of  physiologj^  and  entomology  be  ever  abroad  at 
the  proper  seasons,  with  the  needful  apparatus  for  seeing  all 
things  visible  and  in\nsible,  and  scrutinizing  the  latent  causes 
of  all  those  blights,  blasts,  rots>  rusts  and  mildews  which  so 
often  destroy  the  choicest  products  of  industry,  and  thereby 
impair  the  health,  wealth,  and  comfort  of  millions  of  our  fellow 
men.  Let  the  professor  of  chemistry  carefully  analyze  the  vari- 
ous soils  and  products  of  the  State,  retain  specimens,  give  instruc- 
tion, and  report  on  their  various  qualities,  adaptations,  and  de- 
ficiencies. 

Let  similar  experiments  be  made  in  all  other  interests  of  agri- 
culture and  mechanic  or  chemical  art,  mining,  merchandize  and 
transportation  by  water  and  by  land,  and  daily  practical  and  ex- 
perimental instruction  given  to  each  student  in  attendance  in  his 
own  chosen  sphere  of  research  or  labor  in  life.  Especially  let 
the  comparative  merits  of  all  labor  saving  tools,  instruments, 
machines,  engines  and  processes,  be  thoroughly  and  practically 
tested  and  explained,  so  that  their  benefits  might  be  at  once 
enjoyed,  or  the  expense  of  their  cost  avoided  by  the  unskillful 
and  unwary. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  389 

It  is  believed  by  many  intelligent  men,  that  from  one-third  to 
one-half  the  annual  products  of  this  State  are  annually  lost  from 
ignorance  on  the  above  topics.  And  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
that  in  a  few  years  the  entire  cost  of  the  whole  Institution  would 
be  annually  saved  to  the  State  in  the  above  interests  alone,  aside 
from  all  its  other  benefits,  intellectual,  moral,  social,  and  pecun- 
iary. 

The  Apparatus  required  for  such  work  is  obvious.  There 
should  be  grounds  devoted  to  a  botanical  and  common  garden,  to 
orchards  and  fruit  yards,  to  appropriate  lawns  and  promenades, 
in  which  the  beautiful  art  of  landscape  gardening  could  be  appro- 
priately applied  and  illustrated,  to  all  varieties  of  pasture,  mea- 
dow, and  tillage  needful  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the 
needful  annual  experiments.  And  on  these  grounds  should  be 
collected  and  exhibited  a  sample  of  eveiy  variety  of  domestic 
animal,  and  of  every  tree,  plant,  and  vegetable  that  can  min- 
ister to  the  health,  wealth,  or  taste  and  comfort  of  the  people 
of  the  State;  their  nature,  habits,  merits,  production,  improve- 
ment, culture,  diseases,  and  accidents  thoroughly  scrutinized, 
tested,  and  made  known  to  the  students  and  to  the  people  of 
the  State. 

There  should,  also,  be  erected  a  sufficient  number  of  build- 
ings and  out-buildings  for  all  the  purposes  above  indicated,  and 
Repository,  in  which  all  the  ordinary  tools  and  implements 
of  the  institution  should  be  kept,  and  models  of  all  other  useful 
implements  and  machines  from  time  to  time  collected,  and  tested 
as  they  are  proffered  to  public  use.  At  first  it  would  be  for  the 
interest  of  inventors  and  vendors  to  make  such  deposits.  But, 
should  similar  institutions  be  adopted  in  other  States,  the  gen- 
eral government  ought  to  create  in  each  State  a  general  patent 
office,  attached  to  the  Universities,  similar  to  the  existing  deposits 
at  Washington,  thus  rendering  this  department  of  mechanical  art 
and  skill  more  accessible  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people  of  the 
Union. 

I  should  have  said,  also,  that  a  suitable  industrial  library 
should  be  at  once  procured,  did  not  all  the  world  know  such  a 
thing  to  be  impossible,  and  that  one  of  the  first  and  most  impor- 
tant duties  of  the  professors  of  such  institutions  will  be  to  begin 


390  Hisforif  J^nivcj'siljf  of  Illinois 

to  create,  at  this  late  hour,  a  proper  practical  literature,  and  se- 
ries of  text  books  for  the  industrial  classes. 

As  regards  the  Professors,  they  should,  of  course,  not  only 
be  men  of  the  most  eminent,  practical  ability  in  their  several 
departments,  but  their  connexion  with  the  institution  should  be 
rendered  so  fixed  and  stable,  as  to  enable  them  to  carry  through 
such  designs  as  they  may  form,  or  all  the  peculiar  benefits  of 
the  system  would  be  lost. 

Instruction,  by  lectures  and  otherwise,  should  be  given 
mostly  in  the  colder  months  of  the  year ;  leaving  the  professors 
to  prosecute  their  investigations,  and  the  students  their  necessary 
labor,  either  at  home  or  on  the  premises,  during  the  warmer 
months. 

The  institution  should  be  open  to  all  classes  of  students 
above  a  fixed  age,  and  for  any  length  of  time,  whether  three 
months  or  seven  years,  and  each  taught  in  those  particular 
branches  of  art  which  he  wishes  to  pursue,  and  to  any  extent, 
more  or  less.  And  all  should  pay  their  tuition  and  board  bills, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  either  in  money  or  necessary  work  on  the 
premises — regard  being  had  to  the  ability  of  each. 

Among  those  who  labor,  medals  and  testimonials  of  merit 
should  be  given  to  those  who  perform  their  tasks  with  most 
promptitude,  energy,  care,  and  skill ;  and  all  who  prove  indolent 
or  ungovernable,  excluded  at  first  from  all  part  in  labor,  and 
speedily,  if  not  thoroughly  reformed,  from  the  institution  itself ; 
and  here  again  let  the  law  of  nature  instead  of  the  law  of  rakes 
and  dandies  be  regarded,  and  the  true  impression  ever  made  on 
the  mind  of  all  around,  that  work  alone  is  honorable,  and  in- 
dolence certain  disgrace  if  not  ruin. 

At  some  convenient  season  of  the  year,  the  Commencement, 
or  Annual  Fair  of  the  University,  should  be  holden  through  a 
succession  of  days.  On  this  occasion  the  doors  of  the  institu- 
tion, with  all  its  treasures  of  art  and  resources  of  knowledge, 
should  be  thrown  open  to  all  classes,  and  as  many  other  objects 
of  agricultural  or  mechanical  skill,  gathered  from  the  whole 
state,  as  possible,  and  presented  by  the  people  for  inspection  and 
premium  on  the  best  of  each  kind ;  judgment  being  rendered, 
in  all  cases,  by  a  committee  wholly  disconnected  with  the  insti- 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  391 

tution.  On  this  occasion,  all  the  professors,  and  as  many  of  the 
pupils  as  are  sufficiently  advanced,  should  be  constantly  engaged 
in  lecturing  and  explaining  the  divers  objects  and  interests  of 
their  departments.  In  short,  this  occasion  should  be  made  the 
great  annual  Gala-Day  of  the  Institution,  and  of  all  the  indus- 
trial classes,  and  all  other  classes  in  the  State,  for  the  exhibition 
of  their  products  and  their  skill,  and  for  the  vigorous  and  power- 
ful diffusion  of  practical  knowledge  in  their  ranks,  and  a  more 
intense  enthusiasm  in  its  extension  and  pursuit. 

As  matters  now  are,  the  world  has  never  adopted  any  efficient 
means  for  the  application  and  diffusion  of  even  the  practical 
knowledge  which  does  exist.  True,  we  have  fairly  got  the  primer, 
the  spelling  book,  and  the  newspaper  abroad  in  the  world,  and 
we  think  that  we  have  done  wonders ;  and  so,  comparatively,  we 
have.  But  if  this  is  a  wonder,  there  are  still  not  only  wonders, 
but,  to  most  minds,  inconceivable  miracles,  from  new  and  un- 
known worlds  of  light,  soon  to  break  forth  upon  the  industrial 
mind  of  the  world. 

Here,  then,  is  a  general,  though  very  incomplete,  outline  of 
what  such  an  institution  should  endeavor  to  become.  Let  the 
reader  contemplate  it  as  it  will  appear  when  generations  have 
perfected  it,  in  all  its  magnificence  and  glory;  in  its  means  of 
good  to  man,  to  all  men  of  all  classes:  in  its  power  to  evolve  and 
diffuse  practical  knowledge  and  skill,  true  taste,  love  of  industry, 
and  sound  morality — ^not  only  through  its  apparatus,  experi- 
ments, instructions,  and  annual  lectures  and  reports,  but  through 
its  thousands  of  graduates,  in  every  pursuit  in  life,  teaching  and 
lecturing  in  all  our  towns  and  villages ;  and  then  let  him  seriously 
ask  himself,  is  not  such  an  object  worthy  of  at  least  an  effort,  and 
worthy  of  a  state  which  God  himself,  in  the  very  act  of  creation, 
designed  to  be  the  first  agricultural  and  commercial  state  on  the 
face  of  the  globe? 

Who  should  set  the  world  so  glorious  an  example  of  educat- 
ing their  sons  worthily  of  their  heritage,  their  duty,  and  their 
destiny,  if  not  the  people  of  such  a  state?  In  our  country  we 
have  no  aristocracy,  with  the  inalienable  wealth  of  ages  and  con- 
stant leisure  and  means  to  perform  all  manner  of  useful  experi- 
ments for  their  own  amusement ;  but  we  must  create  our  nobility 


392  History  University  of  Illinois 

for  this  purpose,  as  wc  elect  our  rulers,  from  our  own  ranks,  to 
aid  and  serve,  not  to  domineer  over  and  control  us.  And  this 
done,  we  will  not  only  beat  England,  and  beat  the  world  in  yachts, 
and  locks,  and  reapers,  but  in  all  else  that  contributes  to  the  well 
being  and  true  glory  of  man. 

I  maintain  that,  if  every  farmer 's  and  mechanic 's  son  in  this 
state  could  now  visit  such  an  institution  but  for  a  single  day  in 
the  year,  it  would  do  him  more  good  in  arousing  and  directing  the 
dormant  energies  of  mind,  than  all  the  cost  incurred,  and  far 
more  good  than  many  a  six  months  of  professed  study  of  things 
he  will  never  need  and  never  want  to  know. 

As  things  now  are,  our  best  farmers  and  mechanics,  by  their 
own  native  force  of  mind,  b}'  the  slow  process  of  individual  ex- 
perience, come  to  know,  at  forty,  what  they  might  have  been 
taught  in  six  months  at  twenty ;  while  a  still  greater  number  of 
the  less  fortunate  or  less  gifted,  stumble  on  through  life,  almost 
as  ignorant  of  every  true  principle  of  their  art  as  Avhen  they 
begun.  A  man  of  real  skill  is  amazed  at  the  slovenly  ignorance 
and  waste  he  everj^where  discovers,  on  all  parts  of  their  premises ; 
and  still  more  to  hear  them  boast  of  their  ignorance  of  all  "book 
farming,"  and  maintain  that  "their  children  can  do  as  well  as 
they  have  done ; ' '  and  it  certainly  would  be  a  great  pity  if  they 
could  not. 

The  patrons  of  our  University  would  be  found  in  the  former, 
not  in  the  latter  class.  The  man  whose  highest  conception  of 
earthly  bliss  is  a  log  hut,  in  an  uninclosed  yard,  where  pigs  of 
two  species  are  allowed  equal  rights,  unless  the  four-legged  tribe 
chance  to  get  the  upper  hand,  will  be  found  no  patron  of  Indus- 
trial Universities.    Why  should  he  be  ?    He  knows  it  all  already. 

There  is  another  class  of  untaught  farmers  who  devote  all 
their  capital  and  hired  labor  to  the  culture,  on  a  large  scale,  of 
some  single  product,  which  always  pays  well  when  so  produced 
on  a  fresh  soil,  even  in  the  most  unskillful  hands.  Now  such 
men  often  increase  rapidly  in  wealth,  but  it  is  not  by  their  skill 
in  agriculture,  for  they  have  none;  their  skill  consists  in  the 
management  of  capital  and  labor,  and,  deprive  them  of  these, 
and  confine  them  to  the  varied  culture  of  a  small  farm,  and  they 
would  starve  in  five  years,  where  a  true  fanner  would  amass  a 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  393 

small  fortune.  This  class  are,  however,  generally,  the  fast  friends 
of  education,  though  many  a  looker-on  will  cite  them  as  instances 
of  the  uselessness  of  acquired  skill  in  farming,  whereas  they 
should  cite  them  only  as  a  sample  of  the  resistless  power  of  cap- 
ital even  in  comparatively  unskillful  hands. 

Such  institutions  are  the  only  possible  remedy  for  a  caste 
education,  legislation,  and  literature.  If  any  one  class  provide  for 
their  own  liberal  education,  in  the  state,  as  they  should  do,  while 
another  class  neglect  this,  it  is  as  inevitable  as  the  law  of  gravi- 
tation, that  they  should  form  a  ruling  caste  or  class  by  them- 
selves, and  wield  their  power  more  or  less  for  their  ovni  exclusive 
interests  and  the  interests  of  their  friends. 

If  the  industrial  were  the  only  educated  class  in  the  state, 
the  caste  power  in  their  hands  would  be  as  much  stronger  than 
it  now  is,  as  their  numbers  are  greater.  But  now  industrial 
education  has  been  wholly  neglected,  and  the  various  industrial 
classes  left  still  ignorant  of  matters  of  the  greatest  moment  per- 
taining to  their  vital  interests,  while  the  professions  have  been 
studied  till  trifles  and  fooleries  have  been  magnified  into  matters 
of  immense  importance,  and  tornadoes  of  windy  words  and  bar- 
rels of  innocent  ink  shed  over  them  in  vain. 

This,  too,  is  the  inevitable  result  of  trying  to  crowd  all  lib- 
eral, practical  education  into  one  narrow  sphere  of  human  life. 
It  crowds  their  ranks  with  men  totally  unfit  by  nature  for  pro- 
fessional service.  Many  of  these,  under  a  more  congenial  culture, 
might  have  become,  instead  of  the  starving  scavengers  of  a 
learned  profession,  the  honored  members  of  an  industrial  one. 
Their  love  of  knowledge  was  indeed  amiable  and  highly  com- 
mendable ;  but  the  necessity  which  drove  them  from  their  natural 
sphere  in  life,  in  order  to  obtain  it,  is  truly  deplorable. 

But  such  a  system  of  general  education  as  we  now  propose, 
would  (in  ways  too  numerous  now  to  mention)  tend  to  increase 
the  respectability,  power,  numbers,  and  resources  of  the  true  pro- 
fessional class. 

Nor  are  the  advantages  of  the  mental  and  moral  discipline 
of  the  student  to  be  overlooked :  indeed,  I  should  have  set  them 
down  as  most  important  of  all,  had  I  not  been  distinctly  aware 
that  such  an  opinion  is  a  most  deadly  heresy ;  and  I  tremble  at  the 


394  History  University  of  Illinois 

thought  of  being  arraigned  before  the  tribunal  of  all  the  monks 
and  ecclesiastics  of  the  old  world,  and  no  small  number  of  their 
progeny  in  the  new. 

It  is  deemed  highly  important  that  all  in  the  professional 
classes  should  become  writers  and  talkers ;  hence  they  are  so 
incessantly  drilled  in  all  the  forms  of  language,  dead  and  living, 
though  it  has  become  quite  doubtful  whether,  even  in  their  ease 
such  a  course  is  most  beneficial,  except  in  the  single  case,  of  the 
professors  of  literature  and  theology,  with  whom  these  languages 
form  the  foundation  of  their  professions  and  the  indispensable 
instruments  of  their  future  art  in  life. 

No  inconsiderable  share,  however,  of  the  mental  discipline 
that  is  attributed  to  this  peculiar  course  of  study,  arises  from 
daily  intercourse,  for  years,  with  minds  of  the  first  order  in  their 
teachers  and  comrades,  and  would  be  produced  under  any  other 
course,  if  the  parties  had  remained  harmoniously  together.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  classical  teacher,  who  has  no  original,  spon- 
taneous power  of  thought,  and  knows  nothing  but  Latin  and 
Greek,  however  perfectly,  is  enough  to  stultify  a  whole  generation 
of  boys  and  make  them  all  pedantic  fools  like  himself.  The  idea 
of  infusing  mind,  or  creating,  or  even  materially  increasing  it 
by  the  daily  inculcation  of  unintelligible  w^ords — all  this  awful 
wringing  to  get  blood  out  of  a  turnip — will,  at  any  rate,  never 
succeed  except  in  the  hands  of  the  eminently  wise  and  prudent, 
w^ho  have  had  long  experience  in  the  process;  the  plain,  blunt 
sense  of  the  unsophisticated  will  never  realize  cost  in  the  oper- 
ation. There  are,  moreover,  probably,  few  men  who  do  not  al- 
ready talk  more,  in  proportion  to  what  they  really  know,  than 
they  ought  to.  This  chronic  diarrhoea  of  exhortation,  which  the 
social  atmosphere  of  the  age  tends  to  engender,  tends  far  less  to 
public  health  than  many  suppose.  The  history  of  the  Quakers 
shows,  that  more  sound  sense,  a  purer  morality,  and  a  more  ele- 
vated practical  piety  can  exist,  and  does  exist,  entirely  without 
it,  than  is  commonly  found  with  it. 

At  all  events,  Ave  find,  as  society  becomes  less  conservative 
and  pedantic,  and  more  truly  and  practically  enlightened,  a 
growing  tendency,  of  all  other  classes,  except  the  literary  and 
clerical,  to  omit  this  supposed  linguistic  discipline,  and  apply 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  395 

themselves  directly  to  the  more  immediate  duties  of  their  calling ; 
and,  aside  from  some  little  inconvenience  at  first  from  being  out- 
side of  caste,  that  they  do  not  succeed  quite  as  well  in  advancing 
their  own  interests  in  life  and  the  true  interests  of  society,  there 
is  no  sufficient  proof. 

Indeed  I  think  the  exclusive  and  extravagant  claims  set  up 
for  ancient  lore,  as  a  means  of  disciplining  the  reasoning  powers, 
simply  ridiculous,  when  examined  in  the  light  of  those  ancient 
worthies  who  produced  that  literature,  or  the  modern  ones  who 
have  been  most  devoted  to  its  pursuit  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  If  it  produces  infallible  practical  reasoners,  we  have 
a  great  many  thousand  infallible  antagonistic  truths,  and  ten 
thousand  conflicting  paths  of  right,  interest,  duty,  and  salvation. 
— If  any  man  will  just  be  at  the  trouble  to  open  his  eyes  and 
his  ears,  he  can  perceive  at  a  glance  how  much  this  evasive  disci- 
pline really  does  and  has  done  for  the  reasoning  faculty  of  man, 
and  how  much  for  the  power  of  sophistical  cant,  and  stereotyped 
nonsense ;  so  that  if  obvious  facts,  instead  of  verbose  declamation, 
are  to  have  any  weight  in  the  case,  I  am  willing  to  join  issue  with 
the  opposers  of  the  proposed  scheme,  even  on  the  bare  ground 
of  its  superior  adaptation  to  develope  the  mental  power  of  its 
pupils. 

The  most  natural  and  effectual  mental  discipline  possible  for 
any  man,  arises  from  setting  him  to  earnest  and  constant  thought 
about  the  things  he  daily  does,  sees,  and  handles,  and  all  their 
connected  relations  and  interests.  The  final  object  to  be  attained, 
with  the  industrial  class,  is  to  make  them  thinking  laborers; 
while  the  professional  class  we  should  desire  to  make 
LABORIOUS  THINKERS:  the  production  of  goods  to  feed  and 
adorn  the  body  being  the  final  end  of  one  class  of  pursuits,  and 
the  production  of  thought  to  do  the  same  for  the  mind,  the  end 
of  the  other. — But  neither  mind  nor  body  can  feed  on  the  offals 
of  preceeding  generations.  And  this  constantly  recurring  nec- 
essity of  reproduction,  leaves  an  equally  honorable,  though  some- 
what different,  career  of  labor  and  dutj^  open  to  both;  and,  it 
is  readily  admitted,  should  and  must  vary  their  modes  of  educa- 
tion and  preparation  accordingly. 

It  may  do  for  the  man  of  books  to  plunge  at  once  amid  the 
catacombs  of  buried  nations  and  languages,  to  soar  awaj'  to 


396  Ilislory  University  of  Illinois 

Greece,  or  Rome,  or  Nova-Zeiubla,  Kamtschatka,  and  the  fixed 
stars,  before  he  knows  how  to  plant  his  own  beans,  or  harness 
his  own  horse,  or  can  tell  whether  the  functions  of  his  own  body 
are  performed  by  a  heart,  stomach,  and  lungs,  or  with  a  gizzard 
and  gills. 

But  for  the  man  of  work  thus  to  bolt  away  at  once  from 
himself  and  all  his  pursuits  in  after  life,  contravenes  the  plainest 
principles  of  nature  and  common  sense.  No  wonder  such  edu- 
cators have  ever  deemed  the  liberal  culture  of  the  industrial 
classes  an  impossibility ;  for  they  have  never  tried  nor  even  con- 
ceived of  any  other  way  of  educating  them  except  that  by  which 
they  are  rendered  totally  unfit  for  their  several  callings  in  after 
life. — How  absurd  would  it  seem  to  set  a  clergyman  to  plowing 
and  studying  the  depradations  of  blights,  insects,  the  growing  of 
crops,  &c.,  &c.,  in  order  to  give  him  habits  of  thought  and  mental 
discipline  for  the  pulpit;  yet,  this  is  not  half  as  ridiculous,  in 
reality,  as  the  reverse  absurdity  of  attempting  to  educate  the 
man  of  work  in  unknown  tongues,  abstract  problems  and  the- 
ories, and  metaphysical  figments  and  quibbles. 

Some,  doubtless,  will  regard  the  themes  of  such  a  course  of 
education  as  too  sensuous  and  gross  to  lie  at  the  basis  of  a  pure 
and  elevated  mental  culture.  But  the  themes  themselves  cover  all 
possible  knowledge  and  all  modes  and  phases  of  science,  abstract, 
mixed,  and  practical.  In  short,  the  field  embraces  all  that  God 
has  made,  and  all  that  human  art  has  done,  and  if  the  created 
Universe  of  God  and  the  highest  art  of  man  are  too  gross  for  our 
refined  uses,  it  is  a  pity  the  "morning  stars  and  the  sons  of  God" 
did  not  find  it  out  as  soon  as  the  blunder  was  made.  But,  in 
my  opinion,  these  topics  are  as  of  quite  as  much  consequence  to 
the  well-being  of  man  and  the  healthful  development  of  mind,  as 
the  concoction  of  the  final  nostrum  in  medicine  or  the  ultimate 
figment  in  theology  and  law,  conjectures  about  the  galaxy  or  the 
Greek  accent ;  unless,  indeed,  the  pedantic  professional  trifles 
of  one  man  in  a  thousand  are  of  more  consequence  than  the  daily 
vital  interests  of  all  the  rest  of  mankind. 

But  can  such  an  institution  be  created  and  endowed  ?  Doubt- 
less it  can  be  done,  tiud  done  at  once,  if  the  industrial  classes  so 
decide.    The  fund  given  to  this  state  by  the  general  government, 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  397 

expressly  for  this  purpose,  is  amply  sufficient,  without  a  dollar 
from  any  other  source;  and  it  is  a  mean,  if  not  an  illegal  per- 
version of  this  fund,  to  use  it  for  any  other  purpose.  It  was  given 
to  the  people,  the  whole  people  of  this  state —  not  for  a  class,  a 
party,  or  sect,  or  conglomeration  of  sects ;  not  for  common  schools, 
or  family  schools,  or  classical  schools;  but  for  "An  Univer- 
sity," or  seminary  of  a  high  order,  in  which  should  of 
course  be  taught  all  those  things  which  every  class  of 
the  citizens  most  desire  to  learn  —  their  own  duty  and  bus- 
iness for  life.  This,  and  this  alone,  is  an  University 
in  the  true,  original  sense  of  the  term.  And  if  an  Institution 
which  teaches  all  that  is  needful  only  for  the  three  professions 
of  law,  divinity,  and  medicine,  is,  therefore,  an  University,  surely 
one  which  teaches  all  that  is  needful  for  all  the  varied  professions 
of  human  life,  is  far  more  deserving  of  the  name  and  the  endow- 
ments of  an  University. 

But  in  whose  hands  shall  the  guardianship  and  oversight  of 
this  fund  be  placed,  in  order  to  make  it  of  any  real  use  for  such 
a  purpose?  I  answer,  without  hesitation  and  without  fear,  that 
this  whole  interest  should,  from  the  first,  be  placed  directly  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  and  the  whole  people,  without  any  medi- 
ators or  advisers,  legislative  or  ecclesiastical,  save  only  their  own 
appointed  agents,  and  their  own  jurors  and  courts  of  justice, 
to  which,  of  course,  all  alike  must  submit.  It  w^as  given  to  the 
people,  and  is  the  property  of  the  people,  not  of  legislators,  par- 
ties, or  sects,  and  they  ought  to  have  the  whole  control  of  it,  so 
far  as  is  possible  consistently  with  a  due  security  of  the  funds 
and  needful  stability  of  plans  of  action  and  instruction.  This 
control  I  believe  they  will  be  found  abundantly  able  to  exercise ; 
and  more  than  this  no  w^ell  informed  man  would  desire. 

The  reasons  for  placing  it  at  once  and  forever  beyond  all  leg- 
islative and  ecclesiastical  control,  are  obvious  to  all.  For  if 
under  the  former,  it  will  continually  exist  as  a  mere  tool  of  the 
dominant  party,  and  the  object  of  jealous  fear  and  hatred  of  their 
opponents ;  or  else  it  will  become  the  mere  foot  ball  of  all  parties, 
to  be  kicked  hither  and  thither  as  the  party  interests  and  passion 
of  the  hour  may  dictate.  We  well  know  how  many  millions  of 
money  have  been  worse  than  thrown  away  by  placing  professed 


398  History  University  of  Illinois 

seminaries  of  learning  under  the  influence  of  party  passion, 
through  legislative  control.  And  it  is  surely  a  matter  of  devout 
gratitude  that  our  legislators  have  had  wisdom  enough  to  see  and 
feel  this  difficulty,  and  that  they  have  been  led,  from  various 
causes,  to  hold  this  fund  free  from  all  commitment  to  the  present 
hour,  when  the  people  begin  to  be  convinced  that  they  need  it, 
and  can  safely  control  it ;  and  no  legislator  but  an  aristocrat  or  a 
demagogue  would  desire  to  see  it  in  other  hands. 

The  same  difficulty  occurs  as  regards  sects. — Let  the  institu- 
tion be  managed  ever  so  well  by  any  one  party  or  sect,  it  is  still 
certain  their  opponents  will  stand  aloof  from  it,  if  not  oppose 
and  malign  it  for  that  very  reason.  Hence,  all  will  see  at  once, 
that  the  greatest  possible  care  should  be  taken  to  free  it  from, 
not  only  the  reality,  but  even  from  the  suspicion  of  any  such  influ- 
ence.— Should  the  party  in  power,  when  the  charter  may  be 
granted,  appoint  a  majority  of  the  board  of  trustees  from  the 
parties  in  the  minority,  it  would  show  a  proper  spirit,  and 
be  in  all  coming  time,  an  example  of  true  magnanimity,  which 
their  opponents  could  not  fail  to  respect  and  to  imitate,  and 
which  the  people  at  large  would  highly  approve.  A  vic- 
torious hero  can  afford  to  be  generous  as  well  as  brave — none 
worthy  of  a  triumph  can  afford  to  be  otherwise.  In  all  future 
appointments,  also,  the  candidates  should  be  elected  with  such 
an  evident  regard  to  merit,  and  disregard  of  all  political  and 
sectarian  relations,  as  to  ever  carry  the  conviction  that  the 
equal  good  of  the  whole  alone  is  sought.  There  can  be  no  great 
difficulty  in  accomplishing  all  this,  if  it  is  well  known  in  the 
outset  that  the  people  will  keep  their  eye  closely  upon  that 
man,  whoever  he  may  be,  who  by  any  bargaining  for  votes, 
or  any  direct  or  indirect  local,  sinister,  or  selfish  action  or 
influence,  or  any  evasion  or  postponement,  or  by  any  desire  to 
tamper  and  amend,  merely  to  show  himself  off  to  advantage, 
shall  in  any  way  embarass  or  endanger  this  greatest  of  all  inter- 
ests ever  committed  to  a  free  state — the  interest  of  properly  and 
worthily  educating  all  the  sons  of  her  soil.  Let  the  people  set 
on  such  a  man,  if  the  miscreant  wretch  lives,  for  all  future  time, 
a  mark  as  much  blacker  than  the  mark  set  on  Cain,  as  midnight 
is  darker  than  noon-day.     This  is  a  question,  above  all  others, 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  399 

that  a  man  who  is  a  man,  will  desire  to  meet  openly  and  frankly, 
like  a  man.  Will  our  legislators  do  it?  I,  for  one,  believe 
they  will.  I  shall  not  believe  the  contrary  till  it  is  proved ;  and 
I  will  even  suggest,  in  general,  a  mode  by  which  the  great  end 
may  be  safely  gained.  Let  others,  however,  suggest  a  better  one, 
and  I  will  cheerfully  accord  with  it. 

Let  the  Governor  of  the  State  nominate  a  board  of  tmst  for 
the  funds  of  the  Institution.  Let  this  board  consist  of  five  of  the 
most  able  and  discreet  men  in  the  State,  and  let  at  least  four 
of  them  be  taken  from  each  of  the  extreme  corners  of  the  State, 
so  remote  from  all  proximity  to  the  possible  location  of  the  Insti- 
tution, both  in  person  and  in  property,  as  to  be  free  from  all  sus- 
picion of  partiality.  Let  the  Senate  confirm  such  nomination. 
Let  this  board  be  sworn  to  locate  the  Institution  from  a  regard 
to  the  interests  and  convenience  of  the  people  of  the  whole  State. 
And  when  they  have  so  done  let  them  be  empowered  to  elect 
twelve  new  members  of  their  own  body,  with  perpetual  power  of 
filling  their  own  vacancies,  each  choice  requiring  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  body,  and  upon  any  failure  to  elect  at  the 
appointed  annual  meeting,  the  Governor  of  the  State  to  fill  the 
vacancy  for  one  year,  if  requested  by  any  member  of  the  board 
so  to  do.  Let  any  member  of  the  board  who  shall  be  absent  from 
any  part  of  its  annual  meetings,  thereby  forfeit  his  seat,  unless 
detained  by  sickness,  certified  at  the  time,  and  the  board  on  that 
occasion  fill  the  vacancy,  either  by  his  re-election,  or  by  the  choice 
of  some  other  man.  Let  the  funds  then,  by  the  same  act,  pass  into 
the  hands  of  the  trustees  so  organized,  as  a  perpetual  trust,  they 
giving  proper  bonds  for  the  same,  to  be  used  for  the  endowment 
and  erection  of  an  Industrial  University  for  the  State  of  Illinois. 

This  board,  so  constituted,  would  be,  and  ought  to  be,  re- 
sponsible to  no  legislature,  sect,  or  partj^  but  directly  to  the 
people  themselves — to  each  and  every  citizen,  in  the  courts  of 
law  and  justice,  so  that,  should  any  trustee  of  the  institution 
neglect,  abuse,  or  pervert  his  trust  to  any  selfish,  local,  political, 
or  sectarian  end,  or  show  himself  incompetent  for  its  exercise, 
every  other  member  of  the  board  and  every  citizen  at  large  should 
have  the  right  of  impeaching  him  before  the  proper  court,  and, 
if  guilty,  the  court  should  discharge  him  and  order  his  place  to 


400  History  University  of  Illinois 

be  filled  by  a  more  suitable  man.    Due  care  should  be  taken,  of 
course,  to  guard  against  malicious  prosecutions. 

Doubtless  objections  can  be  urged  against  this  plan,  and  all 
others  that  can  be  proposed.  Most  of  them  may  be  at  once  an- 
ticipated, but  there  is  not  space  enough  to  notice  them  here. 
Some,  for  example,  cherish  an  ardent  and  praiseworthy  desire  for 
the  perfection  of  our  common  schools,  and  desire  still  longer  to 
use  that  fund  for  that  purpose.  But  no  one  imagines  that  it  can 
long  be  kept  for  that  use,  and  if  it  could,  I  think  it  plain  that  the 
loAver  schools  of  all  sorts  would  be  far  more  benefitted  by  it  here 
than  in  any  other  place  it  could  be  put. 

Others  may  feel  a  little  alarm,  when,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  they  see  the  millions  throwing  themselves 
aloof  from  all  political  and  ecclesiastical  control,  and  attempting 
to  devise  a  system  of  liberal  education  for  themselves:  but  on 
mature  reflection  we  trust  they  will  approve  the  plan :  or  if  they 
are  too  old  to  change,  their  children  will. 

I  shall  enter  upon  no  special  pleas  in  favor  of  this  plan  of 
disposing  of  our  State  fund.  I  am  so  situated  in  life  that  it  can- 
not possibly  do  me  any  personal  good ;  save  only  in  the  just  pride 
of  seeing  the  interests  of  my  brethren  of  the  industrial  class 
cared  for  and  promoted,  as  in  such  an  age  and  such  a  state  they 
ought  to  be.  If  they  want  the  benefit  of  such  an  institution  they 
can  have  it.  If  they  do  not  want  it,  I  have  not  another  word  to 
say.  In  their  own  will,  alone,  lies  their  own  destiny,  and  that  of 
their  children. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  B.  TURNER. 

SPRINGFIELD  CONVENTION. 

The  Second  Convention  was  held  at  Springfield,  June  8, 
1852.  A  controversy  there  arose  between  the  members  of  the  In- 
dustrial Convention,  and  the  advocates  and  representatives  of 
some  few  of  the  old  classical  and  theological  colleges,  who  were 
admitted  by  courtesy  to  participate  in  the  debates  of  the  con- 
vention, which  consumed  most  of  the  time  of  the  convention,  and 
but  little,  if  any,  impression  for  good,  was  made  upon  the  public 
mind. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  401 

These  colleges  desired  to  be  made,  themselves,  the  instru- 
ments through  which  the  funds  of  the  State  should  be  applied 
to  the  education  of  the  industrial  classes.  This,  the  representa- 
tives of  these  classes  have  at  all  times,  in  all  their  conventions, 
unanimously  and  steadfastly  opposed. 

At  that  meeting,  however,  the  following  memorial  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Legislature : 

ILLINOIS  INDUSTRIAL  CONVENTION. 

Memorial  of  the  Industrial  Convention  of  the  Senate  and  House 

of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

The  Convention  of  the  friends  of  the  Industrial  University, 
proposed  to  the  consideration  of  the  people  of  Illinois,  by  the 
Granville  convention,  whose  report  is  alluded  to  in  the  message  of 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  beg  leave  to  submit  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  people,  the  fol- 
lowing memorial : 

But  three  general  modes  have  been  publicly  proposed  for  the 
use  of  the  College  and  Seminary  funds  of  the  State. 

I.  The  perpetual  continuance  of  their  use  for  common 
school  purposes,  is  not  seriously  expected  by  any  one,  but  only 
their  temporary  use  as  a  loan  for  this  noble  object. 

II.  The  equal  distribution  of  their  proceeds  among  the  ten 
or  twelve  colleges  in  charge  of  the  various  religious  denomina- 
tions of  the  State,  either  now  in  existence  or  soon  to  arise  and 
claim  their  share  in  these  funds,  and  the  equally  just  claim  of 
Medical  and  other  Institutions  for  their  share,  it  is  thought  by 
your  memorialists,  would  produce  too  great  a  division  to  render 
these  funds  of  much  practical  value  cither  to  these  Institutions  or 
to  the  people  of  the  State.  Nor  do  they  consider  that  it  would 
make  any  practical  difference,  in  this  regard,  whether  the  funds 
were  paid  directly  by  the  State  over  to  the  Trustees  of  these  In- 
stitutions, or  disbursed  indirectly  through  a  new  board  of  over- 
seers or  Regents  to  be  called  the  University  of  Illinois.  The 
plan  of  attempting  to  elect  by  State  authority,  some  smaller  num- 
ber of  these  Institutions  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  funds,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  or  attempting  to  endow  them 


402  History  University  of  Illinois 

all  so  as  to  fit  thcni  for  the  great  practical  uses  of  the  industrial 
classes  of  the  State,  we  trust  your  honorable  bodies  will  see  at 
once  to  be  still  more  impracticable  and  absurd,  if  not  radically 
unequal  and  unjust  in  a  free  State  like  ours. 

III.  Your  memorialists  therefore  desire  not  the  dispersion 
by  any  mode,  either  direct  or  indirect,  of  these  funds ;  but  their 
continued  preservation  and  concentration  for  the  equal  use  of 
all  classes  of  our  citizens,  and  especially  to  meet  the  pressing 
necessities  of  the  great  industrial  classes  and  interests  of  the 
State,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  suggested  in  the  message 
of  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  State,  to  your  honorable 
bodies ;  and  also  in  the  recent  message  of  Governor  Hunt  of  New 
York,  to  the  legislature  of  that  State,  and  sanctioned  by  the  ap- 
proval of  many  of  the  wisest  and  most  patriotic  statesmen  in  this 
and  other  States. 

The  report  of  the  Granville  Convention  of  farmers,  herewith 
submitted  and  alluded  to,  as  above  noticed  in  the  message  of 
our  Chief  Magistrate,  may  be  considered  as  one,  and  as  only 
one,  of  the  various  modes  in  which  this  desirable  end  may  be 
reached,  and  is  alluded  to  in  this  connexion  as  being  the  only  pub- 
lished document  of  any  convention  on  this  subject,  and  as  a  gen- 
eral illustration  of  what  your  petitioners  would  desire,  when  the 
wisdom  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  people  shall 
have  duly  modified  and  perfected  the  general  plan  proposed, 
so  as  to  fit  it  to  the  present  resources  and  necessities  of  the  State. 
We  desire  that  some  beginning  should  be  made,  as  soon  as  our 
statesmen  may  deem  prudent  so  to  do,  to  realize  the  high  and 
noble  ends  for  the  people  of  the  State,  proposed  in  each  and  all 
of  the  documents  above  alluded  to.  And  if  possible  on  a  suffi- 
ciently extensive  scale,  to  honorably  justify  a  successful  appeal 
to  congress,  in  conjunction  with  eminent  citizens  and  statesmen 
in  other  States,  who  have  expressed  their  readiness  to  co-operate 
with  us,  for  an  appropriation  of  public  lands  for  each  State  in 
the  Union  for  the  appropriate  endoAvment  of  Universities  for 
the  liberal  education  of  the  Industrial  Classes  in  their  several 
pursuits  in  each  State  in  the  Union. 

And  in  this  rich,  and  at  least  prospectively,  powerful  State, 
acting  in  co-operation  with  the  vast  energies  and  resources  of 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  403 

this  mighty  confederation  of  United  republics,  even  very  small 
beginnings  properly  directed,  may  at  no  very  remote  day  result 
in  consequences  more  wonderful  and  beneficent  than  the  most  dar- 
ing mind  would  now  venture  to  predict  or  even  conceive. 

In  the  appropriation  of  those  funds  your  memorialists  would 
especially  desire  that  a  department  for  normal  school  teaching, 
to  thoroughly  qualify  teachers  for  county  and  district  schools, 
and  an  appropriate  provision  for  the  practical  education  of  the 
destitute  orphans  of  the  State,  should  not  be  forgotten. 

We  think  that  the  object  at  which  we  aim  must  so  readily 
commend  itself  to  the  good  sense  and  patriotism,  both  of  our 
people,  rulers  and  statesmen,  when  once  fully  and  clearly  under- 
stood, that  we  refrain  from  all  argument  in  its  favor. 

We  ask  only  that  one  institution  for  the  numerous  Industrial 
Classes,  the  teachers  and  orphans  of  this  State,  and  of  each  State, 
should  be  endowed  on  the  same  general  principles,  and  to  the 
same  relative  extent  as  some  one  of  the  numerous  Institutions  now 
existing  in  each  State  for  the  more  especial  benefit  of  the  com- 
paratively very  limited  classes  in  the  three  learned  professions. 
If  this  is  deemed  immoderate  or  even  impracticable  we  will 
thankfully  accept  even  less. 

As  to  the  objection  that  States  cannot  properly  manage 
literary  institutions,  all  history  shows  that  the  States  in  this  coun- 
try, and  in  Europe,  which  have  attempted  to  manage  them  by 
proper  methods,  constituting  a  vast  majority  of  the  whole,  have 
fully  succeeded  in  their  aim.  While  the  few  around  us  which 
have  attempted  to  endow  and  organize  them  on  wrong  prin- 
ciples— condemned  by  all  experience,  have  of  course  failed.  Nor 
can  a  State  charter  and  originate  Railroads  or  manage  any  other 
interest,  except  by  proper  methods  and  through  proper  agents. 
And  a  people  or  a  State  that  cannot  learn  in  time,  to  manage 
properly  and  efficiently  all  these  interests,  and  especially  the 
great  interest  of  self-education,  is  obviously  unfit  for  self-govern- 
ment, which  we  are  not  willing  as  yet  to  admit  in  reference  to 
any  State  in  the  Union,  and  least  of  all  our  own. 

With  these  sentiments  deeply  impressed  on  our  hearts,  and 
on  the  hearts  of  many  of  our  more  enlightened  fellow  citizens, 


404  History  University  of  Illinois 

your  memorialists  will  never  cease  to  pray  your  honorable  bodies 
for  that  effective  aid  which  you  alone  can  grant. 
Respectfully  submitted, 
By  order  of  the  Committee  of  the  Convention, 

J.  B.  TURNER,  Chairman. 

The  Third  Convention  was  held  at  Chicago,  Nov.  24,  1852. 

At  this  convention  much  important  business  was  transacted, 
and  many  interesting  views  suggested,  and  speeches  thereon, 
made  and  reported. 

Among  other  things,  it  was  resolved  to  organize  ' '  The  Indus- 
trial League  op  the  State  of  Illinois,"  which  has  since  been 
chartered  by  our  Legislature,  empowered  to  raise  a  fund,  by 
subscriptions  from  members,  of  ten  cents  each,  per  annum,  and 
by  voluntary  contributions,  to  be  applied  to  the  forwarding  of 
the  objects  of  the  convention,  and  promoting  the  interests  of  the 
industrial  classes. 

Ist.  "By  disseminating  information  both  written  and 
printed  on  this  subject." 

2d.  "By  keeping  up  a  concert  of  action  among  the  friends 
of  the  industrial  classes. ' ' 

3d.  "By  the  employment  of  lecturers,  to  address  citizens 
in  all  parts  of  the  State."  "Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Jacksonville 
was  appointed  principal  Director. ' ' 

"John  Gage,  of  Lake  county,  Bronson  Murray,  of  LaSalle 
CO.,  Dr.  L.  S.  Pennington,  of  Whiteside  co.,  J.  T.  Little,  of  Ful- 
ton CO.,  and  Wm.A.  Pennell,  of  Putnam  co..  Associate  Directors." 

It  was  also  "resolved,  that  this  Convention  memorialize 
Congress  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  grant  of  public  lands  to 
establish  and  endow  Industrial  Institutions  in  each  and  every 
State  in  the  Union." 

' '  The  plan  for  an  Industrial  University,  submitted  by  Prof. 
Turner  to  the  Granville  Convention,"  (reprinted  above,)  "was 
then  called  for,  and  a  motion  passed  to  discuss  its  principles  by 
section ;  whereupon,  after  thus  reading  and  discussing  of  its  vari- 
ous sections,  the  general  principles  of  the  plan  were  approved." 

It  was  also  ' '  voted  unanimously,  that  a  department  for  the 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  405 

education  of  common-school  teachers  be  considered  an  essential 
feature  of  the  plan." 

"Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Jacksonville,  Wm.  Gooding,  of  Lock- 
port,  and  Dr.  John  A.  Kennicott,  of  Northfield,  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  report  a  plan  to  the  next  convention,  and  to  mem- 
orialize the  Legislature  for  the  application  of  the  college  and  sem- 
inary funds  to  this  object,  in  accordance  with  the  acts  and  ordi- 
nances of  Congress,  &c. " 

"J.  B.  Turner,  L.  S.  Bullock  and  Ira  L.  Peck,  were  also  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  citizens  of  this 
State,  on  the  subject  of  Industrial  Education,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  an  Industrial  Institution. ' ' 

The  Fourth  Convention  was  holden  at  Springfield  on  the 
8th  of  January,  1853. 

At  this  meeting,  also,  a  great  many  items  of  a  miscellaneous 
character  were  brought  before  the  Convention,  and  discussed  and 
decided  upon ;  in  almost  every  case  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

The  greatest  harmony  and  good  feeling  prevailed  among  all 
the  members  and  delegates,  and  the  representatives  and  executive 
officers  of  the  people,  in  the  Legislature ;  many  of  whom,  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  took  the  deepest  interest  in  the  subject,  and 
made  noble  and  eloquent  speeches  at  their  evening  session,  in  the 
Senate  chamber  in  its  behalf.      It  was 

Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  any  detailed  plan  of  public  in- 
struction can  only  be  decided  and  acted  upon  by  the  Trustees, 
Directors  or  other  officers  of  the  desired  Institution,  when  cre- 
ated, it  is  not  expedient  to  attempt  to  fix  upon  any  such  details  in 
any  preliminary  conventions  of  the  people ;  and  that  the  commit- 
tee appointed  to  report  on  that  subject,  be  discharged  from  fur- 
ther duty. 

The  duties  and  terms  of  office  of  the  League,  were,  also, 
prescribed  by  this  convention. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  convention,  the  following  mem- 
orial was  written,  at  the  request  of  the  committee,  by  the  author 
and  signed  by  the  President  of  the  convention  and  presented  to 
the  legislature  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  passed  by  the 
convention : 


406  History  University  of  Illinois 

MEMORIAL 

OF  THE  FOURTH  INDUSTRIAL  CONVENTION  OF  THE 
STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 

To  the  Honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 

State  of  Illinois: 

"VVe  would  respectfully  represent:  That  we  are  members 
of  the  industrial  classes  of  this  state,  actively  and  personally  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  and  mechanical  pursuits.  We  are  daily 
made  to  feel  our  own  practical  ignorance,  and  the  misapplication 
of  toil  and  labor,  and  the  enormous  waste  of  products,  means, 
materials  and  resources  that  result  from  it.  "We  are  aware  that 
all  this  evil  to  ourselves  and  our  country,  results  from  a  want  of 
knowledge  of  those  principles  and  laws  of  nature  that  underlie 
our  various  professions,  and  of  the  proper  means  of  a  practical 
application  of  existing  knowledge  to  those  pursuits.  We  rejoice 
to  know  that  our  brethren  in  the  several  learned  professions  have 
to  a  good  degree  availed  themselves  of  these  advantages,  and  have 
for  years  enjoyed  their  benefit.  They  have  universities  and  col- 
leges, with  apparatus,  libraries  voluminous  and  vast,  able  and 
learned  professors  and  teachers,  constantly  discovering  new  facts, 
and  applying  all  known  principles  and  truths  directly  to  the 
practical  uses  of  their  several  professions  and  pursuits.  This  is 
as  it  should  be.  But  we  have  neither  universities,  colleges,  books, 
libraries,  apparatus,  or  teachers,  adapted  or  designed  to  concen- 
trate and  apply  even  all  existing  knowledge  to  our  pursuits, 
much  less  have  we  the  means  of  efficiently  exploring  and  examin- 
ing the  vast  practical  unknown  that  daily  lies  all  around  us, 
spreading  darkness  and  ruin  upon  our  best  laid  plans,  blighting 
our  hopes,  diminishing  our  resources,  and  working  inevitable  evil 
and  loss  to  ourselves,  to  our  families  and  to  our  country.  Some 
think  one  half — no  intelligent  man  thinks  that  less  than  one- 
third  or  one-fourth  of  the  entire  labor  and  products  of  our  state, 
are  made  an  annual  sacrifice  to  this  needless  ignorance  and  waste. 
Knowledge  alone,  here,  is  power,  and  our  relief  is  as  clearly  ob- 
vious as  our  wants.  We  need  the  same  thorough  and  practical 
application  of  knowledge  to  our  pursuits,  that  the  learned  pro- 
fessions enjoy  in  theirs,  through  their  universities  and  their 
literature,  schools  and  libraries  that  have  grown  out  of  them. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  407 

For  even  though  knowledge  may  exist,  it  is  perfectly  powerless 
until  properly  applied,  and  we  have  not  the  means  of  applying  it. 
What  sort  of  generals  and  soldiers  would  all  our  national  science 
(and  art)  make  if  we  had  no  military  academies  to  take  that 
knowledge  and  apply  it  directly  and  specifically  to  military  life? 

Are  our  classic  universities,  our  law,  medicine,  and  divinity 
schools  adapted  to  make  good  generals  and  warriors?  Just  as 
well  as  they  are  to  make  farmers  and  mechanics,  and  no  better. — 
Is  the  defence,  then,  of  our  resources  of  more  actual  consequence 
than  their  production?  Why  then  should  the  state  care  for  the 
one,  and  neglect  the  other  ? 

According  to  recent  publication  only  1  in  260  of  the  popula- 
tion of  our  own  state  are  engaged  in  professional  life,  and  not 
one  in  200  in  the  Union  generally.  A  great  proportion  even  of 
these  never  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  our  classical  and  profes- 
sional schools.  But  there  are  in  the  United  States  225  principal 
universities,  colleges  and  seminaries,  schools,  &c.,  devoted  to  the 
interest  of  the  professional  classes,  besides  many  smaller  ones, 
while  there  is  not  a  single  one,  with  liberal  endowments,  designed 
for  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes. 
No  West  Point  as  yet  beams  upon  the  horizon  of  their  hope ;  true, 
as  yet,  our  boundless  national  resources  keep  us,  like  the  children 
of  Japhet  emigrating  from  the  Ark,  from  the  miserable  degrada- 
tion and  want  of  elder  empires ;  but  the  resources  themselves  lie 
all  undeveloped  in  some  directions,  wasted  and  misapplied  in 
others,  and  rapidly  vanishing  away  as  centuries  roll  onward, 
under  the  ignorance  or  unskillfulness  that  directs  them.  We,  the 
members  of  the  industrial  classes  are  still  compelled  to  work  em- 
pirically and  blindly,  without  needful  books,  schools  or  means,  by 
the  slow  process  of  that  individual  experience  that  lives  and  dies 
with  the  man.  Our  professional  brethren,  through  their  uni- 
versities, schools,  teachers,  and  libraries,  combine  and  concentrate 
the  practical  experience  of  ages  in  each  man's  life.  We  need  the 
same. 

In  monarchial  Europe,  through  their  polytechnic  and  agri- 
cultural schools,  some  successful  effort  has  been  made,  in  some 
departments  and  classes,  to  meet  this  great  want  of  the  age. 

But  in  our  democratic  country,  though  entirely  industrial 


408  History  University  of  Illinois 

and  practical  in  all  its  aims  and  ends,  no  such  effort  has  been 
efficiently  made.  We  have  in  our  own  State  no  such  institutions, 
and  no  practical  combination  of  resources  and  means,  that  can 
ever  produce  one  worthy  of  the  end.  We  have  not  even  a 
"Normal  School"  for  the  education  of  our  teachers,  nor  half  a 
supply  of  efficient  teachers  even  for  our  own  common  schools; 
and  never  can  have  without  more  attention  to  the  indispensable 
means  for  their  production.  Hence,  our  common  schools  are,  and 
must  continue  to  be,  to  a  great  extent,  inefficient  and  languishing, 
if  not  absolute  nuisances  on  our  soil,  as  in  some  cases  they  now 
are.  But  the  common  school  interest  is  the  great  hope  of  our 
country ;  and  we  only  desire  to  render  it  efficient  and  useful,  in 
the  only  way  it  can  be  done ;  by  rearing  up  for  it  competent  and 
efficient  teachers,  in  the  normal  department  of  our  industrial 
universities.  Knowing  that  knowledge,  like  light  and  water,  runs 
downward,  not  upward,  through  human  society,  we  would  begin 
with  the  suns  and  fountains,  and  not  wdth  the  candles  and  pud- 
dles, and  pour  the  light  and  water  of  life  down  through  every 
avenue  of  darkness  below,  and  not  begin  with  the  darkness  and 
drought,  and  attempt  to  evolve  and  force  it  upward.  No  state 
ever  did  or  ever  will  succeed  by  this  latter  process.  The  teacher 
is  the  first  man  sought,  and  the  life  and  light  of  the  whole  thing, 
from  the  university  downward. 

To  this  end,  concentration  is  the  first  indispensable  step. 
Leaving  all  our  common  school  funds  untouched,  as  they  now  are, 
the  proposed  distribution  of  our  university  fund,  amounting  to 
about  $150,000,  will  illustrate  this  point.  The  annual  interest  of 
this,  at  6  per  cent.,  is  about  $9,000.  If  this  should  be  divided 
among  our  ten  or  fifteen  colleges,  it  would  give  them  only  from 
$600  to  $900  each,  per  annum.  Divided  among  our  hundred 
counties,  it  would  give  $90  to  each  county,  for  a  high  school  or 
any  other  purpose.  Divided  as  it  now  is  among  the  million  of 
our  people,  it  gives  9  mills,  or  less  than  one  cent  to  each  person. 
Concentrated  upon  an  industrial  university,  it  would  furnish  an 
annual  corps  of  skillful  teachers  and  lecturers,  through  its  normal 
school,  to  go  through  all  our  towns  and  counties,  create,  establish 
and  instruct  lyceums,  high  schools  and  common  schools,  of  all 
sorts,  and  through  its  agricultural  and  mechanical  departments, 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  409 

concentrating  and  diffusing  the  benefits  of  practical  knowledge 
and  experience  over  all  our  employments  and  pursuits,  our  farms 
and  shops.  Here  as  elsewhere,  the  sun  must  exist  before  the  dia- 
monds and  dewdrops  can  shine.  The  mountain  heights  must 
send  down  their  rills  and  their  torrents,  gathered  from  their  own 
flood  and  the  boundless  resources  of  the  ocean  and  the  sky,  before 
the  desert  can  blossom  as  the  rose.  Money,  however  much  or 
little,  concentrated  in  logs,  clapboards  and  brick,  enclosing  a 
herd  of  listless,  uneasy,  and  mischievous  children,  cannot  make 
a  conunon  school.  The  living  teacher  must  be  there — living  not 
dead ;  for  dead  teachers  only  make  dead  scholars  the  more  dead. 
Nor  can  grammar,  language,  metaphysics,  or  abstract  science, 
however  accurate,  voluminous  and  vast,  ever  diffuse  new  life  and 
new  energy  into  our  industrial  pursuits.  There,  practical  appa- 
ratus, the  thorough  and  accurate  needful  experiments,  as  well 
the  living  and  practical  teachers  are  needed,  in  order  even  to  be- 
gin the  great  work.  This  is  necessarily  expensive,  quite 
beyond  even  the  anticipated  resources  of  our  existing  institu- 
tions. Hence  again,  v/e  need  concentration,  and  not  a  miserable 
useless  and  utterly  wasteful  diffusion  of  our  resources  and  means. 

Throughout  our  State,  and  throughout  the  whole  civilized 
world,  in  all  ages,  where  there  has  been  most  neglect  of  universi- 
ties and  high  seminaries,  and  most  reliance  placed  by  the  people 
in  the  miserable  pittance  doled  out  to  them  by  the  state,  like  so 
many  paupers,  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  precisely  there 
the  common  school  will  be  found,  for  the  inevitable  reason  above 
indicated,  most  inefficient,  weak  and  worthless,  if  not  positive 
nuisances  to  society,  and,  whenever  the  reverse  is  found,  the 
reverse  influences  of  life,  light,  animation  and  hope  beam  forth 
from  the  schools  at  once. 

We  repeat  it,  the  common  school  is  our  great  end,  our  last 
hope  and  final  joy.  But  we  would  reach  and  reanimate  it  under 
the  guidance  of  practical  common  sense,  as  all  experience  shows 
it  must  be  done,  as  it  only  can  be  done,  and  we  would  reach  the 
vital,  practical  interests  of  our  industrial  pursuits,  by  precisely 
the  same  means,  and  on  precisely  the  same  well  known  and  thor- 
oughly tried  plans  and  principles.  We  seek  no  novelties.  We 
desire  no  new  principles.    We  only  wish  to  apply,  to  the  great  in- 


410  History  University  of  Illinois 

t crest  of  the  common  school  and  the  industrial  classes,  precisely 
the  same  principles  of  mental  discipline  and  thorough  scientific 
practical  instruction,  in  all  their  pursuits  and  interests,  which 
are  now  applied  to  the  professional  and  military  classes. 

The  effect  this  must  have  in  disciplining,  elevating  and  refin- 
ing the  minds  and  morals  of  our  people,  increasing  their  wealth 
and  their  power  at  home,  and  their  respect  abroad,  developing  not 
only  the  resources  of  their  minds,  but  their  soil  and  treasures 
of  mineral,  and  perfecting  all  their  materials,  products  and 
arts,  cannot  but  be  seen  by  every  intelligent  mind. 

No  other  enterprise  so  richly  deserves,  and  so  urgently  de- 
mands the  united  effort  of  our  national  strength. 

We  would,  therefore,  respectfully  petition  the  honorable 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  that 
they  present  a  united  memorial  to  the  Congress  now  assembled 
at  Washington  to  appropriate  to  each  State  in  the  Union  an  am- 
ount of  public  lands  not  less  in  value  than  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  for  the  liberal  endowment  of  a  system  of  industrial  uni- 
versities ;  one  in  each  state  in  the  Union,  to  co-operate  with  each 
other  and  with  the  Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington,  for  the 
more  liberal  and  practical  education  of  our  industrial  classes 
and  their  teachers,  in  their  various  pursuits,  for  the  produc- 
tion of  knowledge  and  literature  needful  in  those  pursuits, 
and  developing  to  the  fullest  and  most  perfect  extent  the  re- 
sources of  our  soil  and  our  arts,  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of 
our  people,  and  the  true  glory  of  our  common  country. 

We  would  further  petition  that  the  executive  and  legislature 
of  our  sister  States,  be  invited  to  co-operate  with  us  in  this  en- 
terprise, and  that  a  copy  of  the  memorial  of  this  legislature  be 
forwarded  by  the  governor  to  the  governors  and  Senates  of  the 
several  States. 

We  would  also  petition  that  the  University  fund  of  this 
State,  if  not  at  once  applied  to  these  practical  uses,  be  allowed 
to  remain  where  it  now  is,  and  its  interest  applied  to  present 
uses,  until  such  time  as  the  people  shall  be  prepared  to  direct 
it  to  some  more  efficient  use. 

By  order  of  the  convention. 

BRONSON  MURRAY,  President. 


Industrial  Universities  for  tlie  People  411 

A  similar  memorial  was  submitted  to  the  convention  by  the 
committee  consisting  of  his  Excellency  Gov.  French,  Hon.  David 
L.  Gregg  and  Dr.  L.  S.  Pennington,  appointed  by  the  Chicago 
Convention  and  accepted  and  forwarded  to  Congress,  as  ordered 
by  that  Convention. 

These  memorials  were  presented  to  the  Senate  and  Represen- 
tives  of  Illinois  then  in  session,  and  the  merits  of  the  plan  fully 
discussed  by  able  and  eloquent  advocates,  and  the  following  res- 
olutions were  unanimously  passed  by  both  houses  and  received 
the  approbation  of  the  executive. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Of  the  General  Assembly  of  tJie  State  of  Illinois,  Relative  to  tJie 
EstahlisJiment  of  Industrial  Universities,  and  for  tlie  En- 
couragement of  Practical  and  General  Education  among  the 
People — Unanimously  Adopted. 

Whereas,  The  spirit  and  progress  of  this  age  and  country 
demand  the  culture  of  the  highest  order  of  intellectual  attain- 
ment in  theoretic  and  industrial  science :  And  whereas,  it  is  im- 
possible that  our  commerce  and  prosperity  will  continue  to  in- 
crease without  calling  into  requisition  all  the  elements  of  internal 
thrift  arising  from  the  labors  of  the  farmer,  the  mechanic,  and 
the  manufacturer,  by  every  fostering  effort  within  the  reach  of 
the  government :  And  whereas,  a  system  of  Industrial  Univer- 
sities, liberally  endowed  in  each  State  of  the  Union,  co-operative 
with  each  other,  and  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington, 
would  develop  a  more  liberal  and  practical  education  among 
the  people,  tend  the  more  to  intellectualize  the  rising  genera- 
tion, and  eminently,  conduce  to  the  virtue,  intelligence  and  true 
glory  of  our  common  country  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  hy  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate  con- 
curring herein.  That  our  Senators  in  Congress  be  instructed,  and 
our  Representatives  be  requested,  to  use  their  best  exertions  to 
procure  the  passage  of  a  law  of  Congress  donating  to  each  State 
in  the  Union  an  amount  of  public  lands  not  less  in  value  than  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  the  liberal  endowment  of  a  system 
of  Industrial  Universities,  one  in  each  State  in  the  Union,  to 
co-operate  with  each  other,  and  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution 


412  History  Universihj  of  Illinois 

at  Washington,  for  the  more  liberal  and  practical  education  of 
our  industrial  classes  and  their  teachers;  a  liberal  and  varied 
education  adapted  to  the  manifold  want  of  a  practical  and  enter- 
prising people,  and  a  provision  for  such  educational  facilities, 
being  in  manifest  concurrence  with  the  intimations  of  the  popu- 
lar will,  it  urgently  demands  the  united  efforts  of  our  national 
strength. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  is  hereby  authorized  to  for- 
ward a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  to  our  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives in  Congress,  and  to  the  Executive  and  Legislature  of 
each  of  our  sister  States,  inviting  them  to  co-operate  with  us  in 
this  meritorious  enterprise.  JOHN  REYNOLDS, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
G.  KOERNER, 
Speaker  of  the  Senate. 
Approved,  February  8,  1853.  J.  A.  MATTESON. 

A  true  copy :    Attest, 

ALEXANDER  STARNE,  Sec'y  of  State. 

We  give  the  following  as  a  sample  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
press,  at  home  and  abroad  upon  the  above  resolutions : 

' '  Ed|Ucation  for  the  People.  ' ' — The  New  York  Tribune  of 
Feb.  26th,  has  the  follo^\^ng  remarks,  subjoined  to  the  joint  res- 
olutions passed  by  our  General  Assembly,  relative  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  Industrial  Universities,  and  for  the  encouragement 
of  practical  and  general  education  among  the  people : 

'  *  Here  is  the  principle  contended  for  by  the  friends  of  prac- 
tical education  abundantly  confirmed,  with  a  plan  for  its  immedi- 
ate realization.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note,  that  one  of  the  most 
extensive  of  public  land  (or  new)  States  proposes  a  magnificent 
donation  of  public  lands  to  each  of  the  States,  in  furtherance  of 
this  idea.  Whether  that  precise  form  of  aid  to  the  project  is 
most  judicious  and  likely  to  be  effective,  we  will  not  here  consider. 
Suffice  it  that  the  legislature  of  Illinois  has  taken  a  noble  step 
forward,  in  a  most  liberal  and  patriotic  spirit,  for  which  its  mem- 
bers will  be  heartily  thanked  by  thousands  throughout  the  Union. 
We  feel  that  this  step  has  materially  hastened  the  coming  of 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  413 

scientific  and  practical  education  for  all  who  desire  and  are  wil- 
ing to  work  for  it.    It  cannot  come  too  soon. — III.  Jour." 

The  "Central  Illinois  Times,"  a  newspaper  published  at 
Bloomington,  gives  utterance  to  the  following,  affixed  to  the  res- 
olutions respecting  the  establishment  of  Industrial  Universities : 

' '  The  above  is  undoubtedly  of  more  interest  and  importance 
to  the  people  of  this  State,  than  any  measure  which  came  before 
the  legislature  during  the  late  session.  It  contains  a  wholesome 
principle  of  prosperity  and  advancement,  which  will,  if  fully 
carried  out,  tend  to  elevate  and  improve  the  condition  of  the 
honest  hard  working  farmer.  We  have  always  held  that  the  first 
object  of  government  is  to  afford  protection  to  the  working 
classes,  for  in  them  lies  the  strength  and  glory  of  the  nation. 
Without  protection  they  will  become  weak,  inactive  and  careless, 
with  it  they  are  encouraged  at  every  step,  and  reap  reward  abun- 
dantly to  satisfy  every  want. 

The  resolutions  meet  our  approbation  fully,  and  we  hope 
that  other  States,  and  Congress,  may  well  consider  the  matter, 
and  finally  mould  it  into  a  law. ' ' 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  give  a  few  extracts,  showing 
how  the  enterprise  is  regarded  by  the  public  press,  and  by  able 
and  influential  divines  and  statesmen  in  other  States.  The  testi- 
monials on  hand  are  veiy  numerous,  but  space  here  can  be  spared 
for  only  a  very  few  extracts,  as  specimens  of  the  whole. 

It  will  be  needless  to  remark  upon  the  sentiments  of  the  press 
at  home,  or  in  the  West,  generally,  as  that  is  sufficiently  well 
known  to  all. 

Says  Governor  Hunt,  in  his  message  to  the  New  York  legisla- 
ture. 

' '  Much  interest  has  been  manifested  for  some  years  past  in 
favor  of  creating  an  institution  for  the  advancement  of  agricul- 
tural science  and  of  knowledge  in  the  mechanics  arts.  The  views 
in  favor  of  this  measure  expressed  in  my  last  annual  communica- 
tion remain  unchanged.  My  impressions  are  still  favorable  to 
the  plan  of  combining  in  one  college  two  distinct  departments 
for  instruction  in  agricultural  and  mechanical  science ;  I  would 
respectfully  recommend  that  a  sufficient  portion  of  the  proceeds 


414  History  Univcrsiiy  of  Illinois 

of  the  next  sale  of  lands  for  taxes  be  appropriated  to  the  erection 
of  an  institution  ^vhich  shall  stand  as  a  lasting  memorial  of  our 
munificence,  and  contribute  to  the  diffusion  of  intelligence 
among  the  producing  classes,  during  all  future  time." 

Similar  sentiments  expressed  by  our  ovm  late  Chief  Magis- 
trate, Governor  French,  will  be  remembered  by  all. 

Says  the  Hon.  Marshal  P.  Wilder,  before  tlie  Berkshire  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  Mass. : 

' '  For  want  of  knowledge,  millions  of  dollars  are  now,  annu- 
ally lost  by  the  commonwealth,  by  the  misapplication  of  capital 
and  labor  in  industry.  On  these  points  we  want  a  system  of  ex- 
periments directed  by  scientific  know^lcdge.  Are  they  not  impor- 
tant to  our  farmers  ?  Neither  the  agricultural  papers,  periodicals 
or  societies,  or  any  other  agents  now  in  operation,  are  deemed 
sufficient  for  all  that  is  desirable. 

We  plead  that  the  means  and  advantages  of  a  professional 
education  should  be  placed  within  the  reach  of  our  farmers. 

This  would  not  only  be  one  of  the  most  important  steps  ever 
taken  by  the  commonwealth  for  its  permanent  advancement  and 
prosperity,  but  would  add  another  wreath  to  her  renown  for  the 
protection  of  our  industry  and  the  elevation  of  her  Sons. 

Said  Rev.  Mr.  Hitchcock,  president  of  Amherst  College, — 
while  advocating  the  endo\\Tnents  of  such  institutions  before  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Agriculture,  1851 : 

"I  have  been  a  lecturer  on  chemistry  for  twenty  years.  I 
have  tried  a  great  many  experiments,  in  that  time,  but  I  do  not 
know  of  any  experiment  so  delicate  or  so  difficult  as  the  farmer 
is  trying  every  week.  The  experiments  of  the  laboratory  are  not 
to  be  compared  to  them.  You  have  a  half  dozen  sciences  which 
are  concerned  in  the  operation  of  a  farm.  There  is  to  be  a  delicate 
balancing  of  all  these,  as  every  farmer  knows.  To  suppose  that 
a  man  is  going  to  be  able,  without  any  knowledge  of  these  sciences 
to  make  improvements  in  agriculture  by  haphazard  experiments, 
is,  it  seems  to  me,  absurd. 

He  spoke  of  the  350  similar  schools  of  which  he  gave  some 
account  on  his  return  from  Europe,  mostly  of  recent  origin,  and 
says: 


Industrial  Universities  for  tlie  People  415 

''This  subject  has  made  such  rapid  progress  in  Europe, 
within  a  few  years,  that  I  was  perfectly  amazed  to  find  the  facts 
develop  themselves  as  they  did,  one  after  another.  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  a  class  of  students  of  any  kind,  in  our  country, 
who  would  be  able  to  answer  one-tenth  of  the  questions  which 
those  young  men  answered  very  readily,"  (that  is  in  the  Euro- 
pean agricultural  schools,) — ''and  going  out,  as  they  do,  to  take 
charge  of  other  schools,  they  will  accomplish  much  for  the  bene- 
fit of  their  country,  as  well  as  by  their  example  in  applying  their 
principles  for  other  farmers.  The  people  must  do  this  thing — if 
the  people  are  not  ready  to  force  government  to  help  them,  it  will 
do  no  good  .  It  must  be  a  weighty  concern ;  and  individuals, — one 
would  suppose,  would  sink  under  it." 

Such  are  the  suggestions  of  one  of  our  most  able  and  experi- 
enced scientific  teachers,  who  has,  probably,  taken  more  pains 
to  investigate  the  subject  practically,  especially  during  his  tour 
in  Europe,  than  any  other  man  in  the  country. 

At  this  meeting,  after  a  most  thorough  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject by  eminent  scientific  and  practical  men  present,  the  Massa- 
chusetts Board  of  Agriculture  "resolved  that  a  thorough  syste- 
matic course  of  education,  is  as  necessary  to  prepare  the  cultiva- 
tor of  the  soil,  for  pre-eminence  in  his  calling,  as  to  secure  excel- 
lence in  any  of  the  schools  of  science  or  art: — that  for  want  of 
such  an  education,  millions  of  dollars,  and  a  vast  amount  of  time, 
and  energy  are  annually  lost  to  the  commonwealth,  and  the  yeo- 
manry have  a  right  to  claim  from  the  government  the  same  fos- 
tering care,  which  is  extended  to  other  great  interests  of  the  com- 
munity, ' ' 

In  the  memorial  to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  the  mem- 
orialists say :  ' '  Your  memorialists  are  not  aware,  that  it  is  any 
more  easy  to  get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  husbandry  by  individ- 
ual exertion  and  private  study,  than  it  is  to  acquire,  in  that  way, 
a  competent  knowledge  of  law,  medicine  or  divinity,  and  your 
memorialists  know  of  no  way  by  which  that  knowledge  can  be 
attained,  but  by  a  regular  course  of  instruction." 

This  memorial  is  signed  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  schol- 
ars and  civilians  of  Massachusetts.  Among  them  appear  the 
names  of  the  Honorable  Marshal  P.  Wilder,  Honorable  Edward 


416  History  University  of  Illinois 

Everett,  Honorable  Henry  W.  Cushman,  and  John  W.  Lin- 
coln, &c. 

Do  these  gentlemen  know  anything  about  scholarship,  edu- 
cation, practical  life  and  social  want,  or  are  they  also  mere  vis- 
ionary enthusiasts,  seeking  to  turn  the  world  upside  down  ? 

Massachusetts  Legislature. — We  find  the  following  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  The  proposi- 
tion of  Mr.  Pomeroy  was  received  with  marked  satisfaction,  and 
was  read  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  Pomeroy,  of  Southampton,  on  leave  given,  introduced 
the  following: 

resolves  concerning  agriculture. 

Whereas,  In  view  of  the  increased  attention  devoted  to  theoretical  and 
practical  agriculture,  Massachusetts  earnestly  desires  that  there  be  increased 
facilities  afforded  for  acquiring  a  more  complete  and  liberal  agricultural 
education,  and 

Whereas,  This  and  every  other  State  in  the  Union  is  largely  interested 
in  efforts  to  develop  our  agricultural  resources  to  an  extent  worthy  of  a 
nation  of  farmers,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  Massachusetts  deems  it  expedient  and  just  that  Congress 
appropriate  a  portion  of  our  public  lands  to  establish  and  endow  a  National 
Normal  Agricultural  College,  which  shall  be  to  the  rural  sciences,  what  the 
West  Point  Academy  is  to  the  military,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  teachers 
and  professors  for  service  in  all  the  States  of  the  Republic. 

Eesolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  by  his  Excellency, 
the  Governor,  to  our  Senators  and  Eeprescntatives  at  Washington,  with  the 
request  that  the  subject  be  brought  before  the  two  houses  of  Congress. 

A  convention  on  the  subject  of  a  practical  national  system 
of  university  education,  was  held  at  Albany,  also,  Jan.  26,  1853. 
This  convention  Avas  numerously  attended  by  the  great  and  illus- 
trious luminaries  of  the  State,  the  church  and  colleges  of  the 
North  and  East,  A  committee  of  twenty-one  was  appointed  to 
report  a  plan. 

Among  these  appear  the  names  of  the  venerable  President 
Wayland,  of  Brown  University,  Bishop  Potter,  of  Pennsylvania, 
Washington  Irving,  Gov.  Hunt  and  Senator  Dix  of  New  York, 
President  Hitchcock,  of  Amherst  College,  Professors  Webster, 
Dewey,  Henry,  Bache,  Mitchell,  of  Cincinnati,  Pierce,  of  Cam- 
bridge, &c. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  417 

Rev.  Dr.  Kennedy  spoke  of  "the  want  that  had  long  been  felt 
for  institutions  different  from  those  already  established." 

Professor  C.  S.  Henry  said,  "the  welfare  of  our  country  was 
in  a  great  degree  dependent  upon  what  should  be  done  in  regard 
to  the  proposed  university. ' '  Rev.  Ray  Palmer  said,  ' '  there  was 
lack  of  opportunity  for  scientific  men  to  perfect  themselves  in 
their  various  pursuits,  '  and  desired  that  this  want  should  be  sup- 
plied to  all  parts  of  the  country. '  ' ' 

Rev.  Dr.  Wykoff  said,  "the  first  desideratum  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  institution  was  a  conviction  of  its  importance. 
When  the  souls  of  men  are  fired  up,  the  money  wdll  not  be  w^ant- 
ing.  He  believed  that  the  proper  spirit  was  abroad — a  feeling 
that  would  redound  to  the  honor  and  benefit  of  the  people,  and 
that  the  vrork  would  be  done.  The  enterprise  was  one  for  the 
masses.  It  would  open  the  path  of  knowledge  for  all  the  youth 
in  the  land,  and  from  the  common  school  to  the  highest  university, 
he  would  like  to  see  our  educational  institutions  thrown  freely 
open  to  all." 

Prof.  Henry  said,  "he  would  bid  the  enterprise  God  speed! 
He  deprecated  the  idea  of  attempting  to  establish  a  university 
at  a  moderate  outlay.  One  fitted  for  the  wants  of  this  country, 
should  throw  open  its  lecture  rooms  freely,  to  all  who  should  wish 
to  avail  themselves  of  their  advantages.  It  should  be  the  com- 
plete development  of  the  principle  which  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  our  common  schools. ' ' 

Rev.  President  Wayland  said,  "such  an  establishment  in 
New  York  would  be  an  example,  which,  he  believed,  would  be 
followed  in  other  States.  A  university  with  a  thousand  students 
would  abundantly  sustain  itself;  and  he  thought  the  needed 
expense  Avould  not  bo  so  great  as  some  gentlemen  anticipated." 

Again — do  these  gentlemen  know  anj'thing  about  the  prac- 
tical subject  of  education  in  this  country? 

Said  the  lamented  Downing,  in  the  last  number  of  the  Horti- 
culturist he  ever  edited,  "The  leaven  for  the  necessity  for  educa- 
tion among  the  Industrial  Classes,  begins  to  w^ork,  w^e  are  happy 
to  perceive,  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  At  a  Farmers'  Conven- 
tion in  Illinois,  our  correspondent,  Prof.  Turner,  of  that  State, 


418  History  University  of  Illinois 

submitted  a  plan  for  such  an  educational  institution,  which  has 
since  been  published  in  pamphlet  form. 

We  think  the  importance  of  the  subject  a  sufficient  apology 
for  allowing  the  Professor  to  be  heard  by  a  large  audience. 

It  is  not  often  that  the  weak  points  of  an  ordinary  collegi- 
ate education  are  so  clearly  exposed,  and  the  necessity  of  work- 
ingmen's  universities  so  plainly  demonstrated."  He  then  repub- 
lishes the  plan.    See  Horticulturist,  July  1852,  p.  306. 

Said  the  editor  of  the  N.  York  Tribune,  in  the  editorial  pre- 
facing his  republication  of  the  same  plan,  ''the  great  idea  of  a 
higher  or  thorough  education  for  the  sons  and  daughters  of  farm- 
ers, mechanics  and  laborers,  is  everywhere  forcing  itself  on  the 
public  attention.  Our  race  needs  instiiiction  and  discipline  to 
qualify  them  for  working,  as  well  as  for  thinking  and  talking. 
They  need  something  more  than  the  hireling  picks  up  at  hap- 
hazard in  the  course  of  his  daily  toils. 

For  want  of  this  knowledge  in  every  department  of  rural 
industry,  millions  of  dollars  are  annually  wasted. 

Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Jacksonville,  in  behalf  of  a  convention 
at  Granville,  has  put  forth  a  plan  of  an  industrial  university, 
which  sets  forth  the  pressing  and  common  need,  so  forcibly,  that 
we  copy  the  large  portion  of  it." — [N.  Y.  Tribune,  Sept.  4,  '52. 

An  editorial  in  the  North  American,  (the  oldest  paper  in 
Philadelphia,)  on  education  and  agriculture,  said  to  be  written  by 
Judge  Conrad,  says:  "We  have  been  gratified  by  the  perusal  of 
an  address  delivered  by  Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Jacksonville,  Ills., 
before  a  convention  of  farmers  held  in  that  State,  in  support 
of  the  establishment  of  a  university,  in  which  agriculture  and  the 
sciences  shall  be  made  a  special  branch  of  study.  His  suggestions 
are  urged  with  zeal  and  ability,  and  his  arguments  are  convinc- 
ing, as  to  the  need  and  importance  of  such  institutions.  There 
is  no  subject  more  worthy  of  the  highest  effort  of  the  human  intel- 
lect, nor  one  which  has  been,  till  recently,  so  culpably  disre- 
garded, if  not  condemned. 

To  secure  the  diffusion  and  practical  application  of  agricul- 
tural science,  it  seems  necessaiy  that  it  should  be  interwoven  with 
general  education,  and  its  acquisition  made  an  object  of  early 
pride  and  animated  ambition. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  419 

Were  this  result  attained  by  such  institutions,  as  are  sug- 
gested by  Prof.  Turner,  the  consequences  would  be  not  only  an 
early  application  of  science  to  agriculture,  but  valuable  additions 
to  the  stock  of  knowledge,  induced  by  stimulated  enquiry  and 
experiments. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  with  the  advance  of  agricultural 
science  we  should  witness  an  almost  incredible  increase  of  produc- 
tion. The  condition  of  the  farmer  would  be  improved  to  opu- 
lence, and  the  increased  means  would  be  attended  with  enlarged 
ability  and  leisure,  that  encourage  devotion  to  the  pursuits  and 
tastes  that  elevate  and  refine  the  intellect  and  character. 

The  triumph  of  a  republic  can  only  be  successfully  achieved 
and  permanently  enjoyed  by  a  people,  the  mass  of  whom,  are  an 
enlightened  yeomanry,  the  proprietors  of  the  land  they  till,  too 

INDEPENDENT    TO    BE   BOUGHT,   TOO   ENLIGHTENED   TO   BE    CHEATED, 
AND  TOO  POWERFUL  TO  BE  CRUSHED. 

The  proposition  of  Prof.  Turner,  seems  to  be  entitled  to 
peculiar  and  favorable  consideration,  and  it  is  urged  with  a 
force  of  argument  and  eloquence  that  cannot  fail  to  secure  it. 
His  address  displays  a  full  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  and 
his  views  are  practical  as  well  as  profound,  and  are  conveyed 
with  elevation  of  style  and  earnestness  of  purpose.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  read  his  remarks  without  realizing  the  importance  of  con- 
necting agriculture,  as  a  special  subject  with  the  course  of  Amer- 
ican study.  It  is  desirable  as  a  corrective  of  the  delusion,  that 
induces  so  general  a  rush  into  what  are  termed — not  from  any 
pecuniary  promise — the  liberal  professions.  Agriculture  culti- 
vated to  its  highest  capacity,  demands  a  mind  as  large  and  well 
stored  as  the  liberal  professions,  and  is  at  least  equal  to  any  hu- 
man pursuit  in  intellectual  and  moral  elevation.  Liberally 
taught,  it  would  become  an  object  of  ambition  to  those  youths 
who  now  yearly  swell  the  unhappy  hosts  that  over-crowd  the 
professions.  By  making  agriculture  a  liberal  pursuit;  by  con- 
necting it  with  science,  (as  it  is  already  associated  with  all  that 
is  most  beautiful  in  literature;)  by  elevating  and  refining  it,  it 
would  be  rendered  a  noble  amusement  to  the  luxurious — a  noble 
distinction  to  the  earnest  and  ambitious.  This  has  already  been 
done  to  some  extent :  it  remains  that  a  system  of  education  should 
render  it  general." 


420  History  Univcrsiiy  of  Illinois 

Says  Dr.  Lee,  the  able  and  talented  editor  of  the  Souiliern 
Cultivator,  the  leading?  monthly  periodical  of  the  Southern  plant- 
ing interest,  published  at  Augusta,  Georgia,  in  reply  to  a  letter 
enquiring  for  some  practical  agricultural  school  for  the  sons  of 
the  planters,  which  letter  he  says,  he  publishes  as  a  "fair  sample 
of  scores  of  similar  letters  received  every  month : "  * '  There  is 
not  a  good  agricultural  school  in  the  United  States.  The  truth 
is,  the  American  people  have  yet  to  commence  the  study  of  agri- 
culture as  the  combination  of  many  sciences.  Agriculture  is  the 
most  profound  and  extensive  profession  that  the  progress  of  soci- 
ety and  the  accumulation  of  knowledge  have  developed.  This  is 
why  the  popular  mind  is  so  long  in  grasping  it.  Whether  we  con- 
sider the  solid  earth  under  our  feet,  the  invisible  atmosphere 
which  we  breathe,  the  wonderful  growth  and  decay  of  all  plants 
and  animals,  or  the  light,  the  heat,  the  cold,  or  the  electricity  of 
heaven,  we  contemplate  but  the  elements  of  rural  science.  The 
careful  investigation  of  the  laws  that  govern  all  ponderable  and 
imponderable  agents,  is  the  first  step  in  the  young  farmer's  edu- 
cation. To  facilitate  his  studies,  he  needs,  as  he  pre-eminently 
deserves,  a  more  comprehensive  school  than  this  country  now 
affords.  We  notice  a  plan  for  an  industrial  university  &c.,  by 
Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Jacksonville,  Ills.  This  subject  is  begin- 
ning to  take  a  strong  hold  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  we 
are  glad  to  see  gentlemen  of  the  talents  and  influence  of  Prof. 
Turner,  lending  a  helping  hand  to  put  a  ball  in  motion,  which, 
ultimately,  will  sweep  down  all  opposition.  This  plan  of  Prof. 
Turner,  is  full  of  valuable  practical  suggestions,  and  the  memo- 
rial w^hich  accompanies  it,  or  a  similar  one,  should  be  forced  upon 
the  attention  of  the  General  Government,  and  of  every  State  in 
the  Union. ' ' 

But  these  extracts  must  suffice  to  show  both  the  interest  taken 
in  the  general  subject  abroad,  and  also,  in  that  particular  aspect 
it  has  assumed  in  this  State,  as  presented  in  the  report  of  the 
first  convention  held  at  Granville. 

Does  anyone  now  doubt  that  we  are  encouraged  to  go  for- 
ward? With  what  unexpected  and  almost  fearful  velocity,  the 
darkness  has  sped  away  before  the  light  in  one  short  year !  The 
interest  of  mechanics  and  mechanical  institutes  and  associations 


Industrial  Universities  for  tlie  People  421 

ill  this  matter,  is  no  less  intelligent,  marked  and  decisive,  than 
that  of  their  agricultural  brethren,  though  they  have  fewer  or- 
gans and  advocates.  Why  should  we  halt  in  our  career !  What 
have  we  to  fear  ?  We  and  our  cause,  are  at  this  moment  stronger 
than  all  the  legislatures,  and  congresses,  and  colleges  on  the  conti- 
nent, even  if  they  were  all  pitted  against  us.  But  the  great  major- 
ity of  them  are  most  warmly  and  efficiently  for  us.  Thej^  are  our 
ablest  and  most  valued  advocates  and  friends.  There  may  be 
' '  old  fogies ' '  among  them :  so  there  are  among  us :  these  fossil 
remains  of  a  prior  formation  always  will  exist  everywhere.  It 
is  well  they  do ;  for  without  them  we  should  never  be  able  to 
demonstrate  the  floods  of  darkness  and  prejudice  that  have, 
in  past  ages,  deluged  the  human  mind.  In  this  case  there  are  no 
more  of  these  old  conservatives,  now  extant,  than  will  be  really 
needed  by  our  new  universities  as  cabinet  specimens  of  a  monkish 
age  just  gone  by.  They  will  serve  as  a  connecting  link  between  the 
mummies  of  the  catacombs,  and  the  whirling,  buzzing,  living, 
lightning  world  of  our  own  time.  Some  few  of  these  philosophic 
owls  affect  to  be  greatly  distressed  lest  a  war  of  classes  and  profes- 
sions should  be  provoked  in  this  effort,  because,  forsooth,  we  are 
obliged  to  speak  distinctly  and  decidedly  of  the  peculiar  wants, 
duties  and  rights  of  the  different  classes  of  society.  Now  the 
history  of  the  whole  world  shows  there  never  was  and  never 
could  be  such  a  war  of  classes  incited  by  any  means  whatever, 
in  any  State  or  community,  unless  there  was  ample  and  justifiable 
reason  for  it;  and  whenever  such  reasons  may  exist,  the  sooner 
such  a  war  comes,  the  better,  if  the  unjust  causes  are  not  at  once 
removed.  Do  these  alarmists,  then,  pretend  that  any  such  causes 
exist  in  this  country,  connected  with  the  scheme  of  industrial  and 
professional  education?  We  do  not  believe  it:  such  an  assump- 
tion is  a  slander  upon  the  institutions  of  the  country,  as  well  as 
the  men  in  it.  So  far  from  it,  no  other  single  subject  could  be 
named,  to  which  the  whole  heart  of  all  the  freemen  of  this  Re- 
public, of  all  classes  and  professions,  would  so  spontaneously  and 
unequivocally  respond.  Let  those  who  always  take  a  step  in  ad- 
vance, as  though  the  whole  continent  were  paved  with  rotten  eggs, 
tread  as  carefully  as  they  please :  but  let  those  who  are  men,  ad- 
vance like  men,  with  fearless  step,  as  if  on  the  green,  solid  earth, 
amid  brave  and  generous  freemen  like  themselves. 


422  History  University  of  Illinois 

That  such  a  measure  should  in  any  possible  respect  injure 
and  retard  any  other  institution  or  interest  of  any  value  to  man- 
kind, is,  clearly  impossible :  but  that  it  should  necessarily  increase 
the  means  and  instruments,  and  exalt  the  utility  and  power  of 
good  in  all  such  institutions  and  interests,  is  equally  evident,  and 
is  seen  and  felt  by  all  the  best  minds  in  all  classes  in  the  nation. 

That  there  are  always  great  and  eminent  dangers  attending 
their  incorporation,  all  thinking  men  well  know.  If  consigned 
to  corruption,  imbecility  and  folly  in  any  of  the  several  States, 
(as  some  similar  institutions,  doubtless  have  been,)  the  money 
expended  in  the  endowment  will  be,  of  course,  perverted,  or  lost. 
But  is  this  necessary?  Is  there  not  wisdom  enough,  and  patri- 
otism enough  in  Congress  and  in  the  several  States/  combined,  to 
preclude  the  probability,  if  not  the  possibility  of  any  such  per- 
version or  abuse  ?  Or,  if  errors  should  occur,  and  loss  and  dam- 
age in  some  cases  ensue,  would  not  experience,  and  the  example 
of  other  States  correct  the  evil,  and,  ultimately,  each  free  State 
learn  to  control,  wisely,  the  means  indispensable  to  its  OAvn  edu- 
cation, development  and  welfare?  If  not,  then,  they  are  obviously 
not  yet  fit  for  self-government,  which,  necessarily,  implies  self 
education. 

In  the  grant  of  lands.  Congress  has  the  right,  and  doubtless, 
ought  to  prescribe  some  uniform,  wise  and  patriotic  conditions 
to  the  grant,  which  should,  as  far  as  possible,  place  it,  in  all  com- 
ing time,  beyond  the  reach  of  all  partisan,  local  and  sinister 
passions,  interests  and  impulses,  and  leave  it  only  in  the  hands  of 
the  ' '  sober,  second  thought, ' '  of  the  people  of  the  several  States, 
through  the  proper  Courts  and  Commissioners,  or  regents  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose,  and  well  qualified  for  the  trust. 

It  appears,  from  the  report  of  President  Hitchcock,  of  Am- 
herst College,  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  that  there  are, 
in  Europe,  352  such  institutions ;  many  of  which  he  visited,  and 
all  of  which  exert  a  powerful  and  salutary  influence,  by  the  dif- 
fusion of  intelligence,  and  by  the  improvement  of  these  time 
honored  arts.  In  France  there  are  75  under  government  patron- 
age. To  one  of  these  she  made  appropriations  in  1849,  of  half 
a  million  dollars.  Another  has  already  graduated  600  well  edu- 
cated agriculturists,  who  immediately  found  honorable  and  lu- 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  423 

crative  situations  at  the  head  of  their  professions.  Monarehial 
Russia  has  68  of  these  schools,  some  of  which  are  of  a  high  order, 
and  superior  to  those  in  other  lands !  Cannot  each  of  our  con- 
federated republics  afford  one  such  institution? 

The  Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder,  in  the  same  address  quoted  above, 
estimates  the  annual  loss  of  the  single  State  of  Massachusetts  in 
the  one  product  of  her  cereal  grains,  for  want  of  the  knowledge 
and  skill  which  such  institutions  alone  can  impart,  at  two  millions 
of  dollars. 

This  would  give  to  the  Union,  at  the  same  rate,  on  this  single 
product,  an  annual  loss  of,  at  least,  sixty  million  dollars. 

A  gentleman  who  has  great  practical  experience,  in  the  line 
of  stock,  dairy,  &c.,  in  Massachusetts,  reports  the  loss  through  the 
same  ignorance  and  unskillfulness  in  these  interests  of  Massa- 
chusetts, alone,  at  15  millions  dollars. 

(See  Patent  Office  Reports  1851,  page  28.) 

This  would  give  to  the  thirty  States,  if  Massachusetts  be 
taken  as  an  average,  an  annual  loss  of  450  millions  of  dollars,  in 
another  single  department. 

In  other  departments  of  agriculture,  and  in  all  our  build- 
ings, improvements  and  use  of  mechanical  skill  and  labor,  it  is 
no  better,  and  in  many  respects,  even  worse,  as  every  intelligent 
man  will  admit.  Surely,  then,  if  these  things  are  so,  is  it  true 
that  "for  lack  of  knowledge  the  people  perish,"  as  well  in  their 
temporal  as  their  eternal  interests.  Both  are  governed  by  the 
same  law  and  are  bound  to  the  same  fate,  like  the  bodies  and 
souls  of  men. 

PROPOSED  PLAN  OF  ACTION 

Let  every  Agricultural  Society  and  every  Mechanics'  Insti- 
tute, every  State  and  every  neighborhood,  at  once  procure  Re- 
solves of  their  corporations,  or  the  signatures  of  their  friends, 
and  forward  to  Congress  the  following  petition  or  one  of  similar 
form,  and  adopt  suitable  petitions  for  and  from  their  State  Legis- 
latures, and  forward  to  the  Chief  Executor  of  the  League  a  copy 
of  the  same. 

The Would  respectfully  petition  your  honorable 

body  for  a  grant  of  Congress  Lands  to  each  State  in  the  Union  to 


424  History  University  of  Illinois 

endoAv  therein  an  Industrial  University  for  the  liberal  and  prac- 
tical education  of  the  Industrial  classes  in  their  several  pursuits 
and  professions  in  life.  Said  grant  to  be  not  less  in  value  than 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  each  State,  and  to  be  held  in 
trust  for  the  above  uses,  accompanied  by  such  conditions  and 
restrictions  in  the  terms  of  the  grant,  as  shall  in  the  wisdom  of 
Congress,  be  needful  in  order  to  secure  this  trust  forever  to  the 
uses  aforesaid,  and  to  prevent  as  far  as  practicable  in  all  coming 
time  the  possibility  of  such  trusts  being  diverted  from  their  pro- 
per object,  or  made  subservient  to  any  local,  partisan,  or  sectarian 
end  inconsistent  with  the  appropriate  use  of  such  trust. 

MEMORIAL 

To  tlie  Honorahle  tlic  Memhers  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eep- 

resentatives  of  the  State  of  Ulinois: 

The  undersigned,  citizens  of  this  State,  regarding  with  ad- 
miration the  facilities  which  the  civilized  world  at  present  affords 
for  the  liberal  education  of  the  members  of  the  learned  and  mili- 
tary professions,  and  justly  appreciating  the  benefits  which  they 
have  derived  therefrom  in  their  pursuits  in  life,  desire  the  same 
blessing  for  ourselves,  and  our  children,  and  for  each  and  all 
the  members  of  the  industrial  classes  of  this  State.  We,  there- 
fore, would  humbly  pray  your  honorable  bodies  so  to  dispose  of 
the  Fund  given  by  the  General  Government  to  this  State  for  the 
advancement  of  learning,  that  a  State  University  may  be  endowed 
with  ample  means  for  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  all 
classes  in  society,  each  in  their  own  several  pursuits  in  life ;  and 
that  these  funds  may  be  immediately  committed  to  a  Board  of 
Trustees  for  this  purpose  in  general  accordance  with  a  plan  of 
the  Convention  already  approved  by  large  numbers  of  our  most 
intelligent  and  patriotic  citizens. 


Industrial  Universities  for  the  People  425 

DESIGN 
OF  THE  INDUSTRIAL  LEAGUE  OF  ILLINOIS. 

OFFICERS 

PRINCIPAL   DIRECTOR, 

J.  B.  TURNER,  Jacksonville. 

ASSOCIATE  DIRECTORS, 

John  Gage,  Lake  Co.  Bronson  Murray,  La  Salle  co. 

L.  S,  Pennington,  Whiteside  co.  J.  T.  Little,  Fulton  Co. 
Wm.  a.  Fennel,  Putnam  County 

I.  There  are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  $150,- 
000  in  money,  and  about  seventy-two  sections  of  land  selected  at 
an  early  period,  and  probably  worth  as  much  more. 

II.  The  land  and  money,  was  donated  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, to  this  State,  as  a  trust  fund,  apart  from  and  indepen- 
dent of  the  Common  School  Fund. 

III.  With  this  fund  the  State  is  required  by  Congress  to 
establish  a  State  University  or  High  Seminary  of  learning. 

IV.  The  members  of  this  industrial  league  are  such,  and 
such  only,  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  as  desire  that 
when  this  State  Seminary  is  established,  it  shall  be  upon  the  fol- 
lowing rational  and  impartial  principles : 

V.  It  shall  be  designed  to  furnish  to  the  great  Industrial 
classes  of  the  State,  our  Farmers,  Merchants  and  Mechanics,  each 
in  their  own  sphere,  the  same  thorough,  liberal  and  practical 
education  in  those  various  sciences  underlying  their  several  pur- 
suits, and  in  all  processes,  principles,  and  arts  comiected  there- 
with, as  our  colleges  and  professional  schools  now  afford  to  their 
students  of  Theology,  Medicine,  Law,  and  the  art  of  War;  and 
shall  be  provided  with  all  needful  apparatus,  lands,  grounds, 
gardens,  animals,  drawings,  models,  instruments  and  engines, 
for  the  proper  elucidation  of  the  same — as  other  schools  are  pro- 
vided with  their  necessary  apparatus. 


426  History  University  of  Illinois 

To  combine  the  friends  of  this  interest,  The  Industrial 
League  of  Illinois  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  Febru- 
ary 1853. 

1st.  With  a  capital  of  $20,000,  to  be  raised  by  members, 
fees  and  donations ; 

2d.  With  a  Board  of  one  chief  Director  and  five  associates; 
whose  office  it  shall  be 

3d.  To  print  and  distribute  books,  pamphlets,  and  papers, 
explaining  the  advantages  and  necessity  of  this  system  of  edu- 
cation. 

4th.  To  employ  lecturers  to  visit  all  parts  of  the  State  for 
the  same  purpose,  and  to  appoint  agents  for  making  collections, 
&c. 

5th.  To  circulate,  and  present,  to  the  Legislature  and  to 
Congress,  petitions,  urging  the  adoption  of  this  plan  for  a  Uni- 
versity and  the  liberal  endowment  thereof  by  Congress  lands  and 
by  State  funds  in  each  State  in  the  Union. 

6th.  To  receive  from  each  member  ten  cents  admission,  and 
ten  cents  annual  subscription,  with  fee  for  diploma  and  such 
voluntary  donations  as  may  be  contributed. 

7th.  The  funds  so  collected  to  be  applied  to  the  payment 
of  lecturers,  agents,  and  officers,  (other  than  Associate  Directors, 
who  shall  receive  no  compensation  for  services,)  to  the  payment 
of  printing  and  such  incidental  expenses  as  shall  be  approved  by 
the  Board:  and  on  the  establishment  of  a  University  as  herein 
contemplated,  any  surplus  funds  in  the  treasury  to  be  paid  over 
to  the  treasury  of  such  University. 

8th.  Members  of  the  Industrial  League,  who  desire  it,  may 
withdraw  from  their  membership  upon  giving  notice  to  any 
agent  of  the  Board,  provided  their  dues  are  all  paid,  including 
those  for  the  year  in  which  they  withdraw. 

9th.     The  year  of  the  League  commences  with  the  first  day 

of  each  January. 

[The  undersigned  hereby  enter  their  names  as  members  of  the  "Indus- 
trial League  of  Illinois, ' '  from  the  date  set  opposite  their  names.] 


Evan's  Plan  for  a  University  427 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  3 

Prop.  John  Evan's  Plan  for  an  Industrial  University 

Illinois  Journal,  (Springfield,)  June  24,  1852. 

The  following  plan  was  submitted  by  Professor  Evans,  be- 
fore the  late  Industrial  Convention  held  in  this  city. 

Dr.  Evans  then  submitted  the  following  plan,  remarking, 
that  for  some  of  its  most  valuable  features  he  was  indebted  to  the 
suggestion  of  Dr.  Roe,  of  Jacksonville,  and  moved  its  reference 
to  a  committee  of  three,  who  should  prepare  a  bill  embodying  it, 
and  memorialize  the  legislature  upon  subject. — He  however, 
afterwards  accepted  an  amendment  offered  by  Dr.  Roe,  provid- 
ing that  the  committee  should  consist  of  six,  three  to  be  chosen 
from  the  friends  of  this  plan,  and  three  from  the  friends  of  Pro- 
fessor Turner's  plan,  and  that  the  two  plans  be  referred  to  said 
committee. 

The  plan  was:  That  the  Legislature  should  incorporate 
seven  citizens,  to  be  styled  "the  Regents  of  the  Industrial  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois. ' ' 

That  the  proceeds  of  the  College  and  Seminary  Funds  be 
placed  at  their  disposal  to  be  applied  to  the  promotion  of  prac- 
tical education  as  hereinafter  provided. 

That  the  Regents  appoint  six  Professors  who  shall  devote  all 
of  their  time  to  teaching,  and  to  the  diffusion  and  advancement 
of  knowledge  upon  the  subject  assigned  them  and  receive  each  a 
salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum  for  their  services. 

That  they  shall  give  regular  courses  of  instruction  on  the 
subjects  assigned  them,  in  colleges  as  hereafter  provided;  and 
that  the  appropriate  professors  shall  visit  mechanical,  agricul- 
tural and  horticultural  fairs,  educational  and  other  meetings,  as 
may  be  consistent  Avith  their  other  duties,  and  give  practical  lec- 
tures and  demonstrations  for  the  instruction  of  such  as  may 
attend.  And,  also,  to  publish  from  time  to  time  such  matter  of 
interest  pertaining  to  their  departments  as  they  may  deem  valu- 
able to  the  public. 


428  History  University  of  Illinois 

That  the  remaining  portion  of  the  annual  proceeds  of  the 
funds,  shall  be  expended  in  providing  apparatus  and  means  of 
illustrating  and  demonstrating  the  branches  taught  by  these  pro- 
fessors. 

That  there  shall  be,  1st,  a  Professor  of  the  Chemistry  of 
Agriculture  and  the  Arts,  to  teach  the  analysis  and  composition 
of  the  soil,  and  the  adaptation  of  such  as  are  found  in  the  State 
to  the  growth  of  the  various  products  of  agriculture ;  their  wants, 
and  the  means  of  improving  them ;  and  the  composition  of  vege- 
tables, and  also  the  chemistry  of  oils,  soap,  dye  stuffs,  articles  of 
food,  &e.,  &c. 

2nd.  A  Professor  of  Practical  Agriculture,  Horticulture, 
and  Botany — To  teach  the  best  mode  of  cultivation,  adaptation 
of  climate,  fitness  of  the  soil  for  the  various  products  of  the  farm 
and  garden ;  and  also  the  botany  and  physiology  of  all  the  plants 
cultivated,  &c.,  &c. 

3rd.  A  Professor  of  Mechanical  Philosophy,  and  the  nature 
and  use  of  tools  and  machinery ; — To  teach  the  philosophy  of  all 
implements  and  their  use,  and  the  principles  of  machinery,  and 
their  application  to  the  practical  purposes  of  life,  &c.,  &c. 

4th.  A  Professor  of  Natural  History,  Comparative  Anat- 
omy, and  Veterinary  Surgery — To  teach  the  origin,  habits,  na- 
ture, forms,  structure,  uses,  and  the  means  of  improving  all  of  the 
animals,  birds,  reptiles,  and  insects  by  which  we  are  surrounded ; 
and  the  diseases  of  animals,  and  the  best  modes  of  treating  them, 
&c.,  &c. 

5th.  A  Professor  of  Geology,  Heterology,  and  Hygiene — 
To  teach  the  science  of  the  weather,  of  the  form  and  composition 
of  the  earth,  and  the  origin  of  soils  and  minerals,  &c.,  and  the 
laws  and  means  for  the  preservation  of  health,  &c.,  &c. 

6th.  A  Professor  of  Normal  Instruction  in  English  Liter- 
ature— To  teach  the  best  modes  of  conducting  the  common 
schools,  the  most  important  rules  for  imparting  instruction,  and 
the  proper  subjects  and  the  order  in  which  they  should  be  taught. 

That  the  regents,  with  the  professors,  shall  devise  a  course 
of  study  to  be  pursued  in  each  department,  and  alter  the  same  as 
may  be  found  necessary. 


Evan's  Plan  for  a  University  429 

That  they  shall  select  as  many  of  the  colleges  in  the  State 
as  they  may  deem  expedient,  and  as  may  accept  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law,  in  which  courses  of  instruction  in  these  several 
departments  shall  be  given  by  turns,  by  the  respective  professors 
to  such  students  as  may  desire  to  attend,  under  the  regulations 
of  the  regents  of  said  university. 

That  the  colleges  accepting  under  the  act  shall  agree  to  fur- 
nish room  for  the  lectures  and  recitations,  and  for  the  necessary 
apparatus  for  imparting  these  courses  of  instruction.  Also  to 
establish  a  scientific  course  of  instruction,  and  to  confer  upon 
such  as  pass  through  satisfactorily  the  degree  of  bachelor  of 
science.  Also  to  admit  students  to  the  courses  of  the  professors 
of  the  Industrial  University,  without  requiring  any  other  than 
an  initiation  fee  and  room  rent,  which  shall  be  fixed  between  them 
and  the  regents,  before  completing  any  such  arrangement. 


480  History  University  of  Illinois 

DOCUMENT  NUJVIBER  4 

Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield,  III. 

Springfield,  111.,  Jan.  13,  1853. 
Prof.  J.  B.  Turner 

Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  yesterday  I  got  this  evening.  And 
feel  highly  complimented  with  your  kind  insinuation ;  but  never- 
theless am  not  so  elated  as  to  lose  my  balance.  My  heart  is  in  this 
work.  I  am  tendered  the  principal  editor's  place  of  the  Decatur 
"Shoaff's  family  Gazette,"  I  have  sent  piles  of  our  matter  for 
diffusion  there.  Also  I  have  sent  a  lot  or  two  to  Ottawa  Free 
Trader.  The  memorials  will  come  out  just  as  they  are  being 
discussed  in  the  Legislature.  It's  time  enough  for  them.  I  have 
purposely  omitted  the  mention  of  them  in  the  Leader  of  the 
"Journal"  I  sent  you.  I  furnish  tJiem  a  leader  every  day,  be- 
sides— items !  I  am  now  on  the  message  of  Matteson,  and  will 
give  the  memorials  due  consideration  by  &  bye.  I  have  prepared 
a  Charter  for  the  League  which  I  will  hand  to  Denio  or  some  other 
friend  tomorrow — I  am  now  getting  ready  another  copy  of  Leg. 
Memorial  for  Senator  Cook,  Denio  has  one.  When  I  get  it 
through,  I  ^vill  send  it  down.  You  can  gather  up  your  armor  for 
sliort  stahs  and  close  fighting.  Your  speech  at  the  general  meet- 
ing is  most  fully  reported  for  the  Ottawa  Free  Trader.  If  you 
keep  a  look  out  for  it,  you  may  there  see  yourself  in  your  utmost 
glory.  I  shall  fix  up  and  on  and  through  this  subject  till  the  close 
of  the  session  and  then  fight  among  the  people. 

Excuse  this  scrawl,  and  believe  me  your  friend  truly 

George  L.  Lumsden 


Memorial  to  the  Legislature  431 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  5 

So  far  as  knovm  this  memorial  has  not  been  published  since  1853  and 
then  only  in  one  or  two  newspapers. 

Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield,  III. 

MEMORIAL 

The  Industrial  Convention  of  the  State  of  Illinois  assembled 
at  Springfield  111  this  fifth  day  of  January  1853 

To  the  Hon  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  con- 
gress assembled  would  respectfully  represent  that 

We  are  members  of  the  Industrial  class  engaged  in  the  vari- 
our  pursuits  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  arts.  We  find 
ourselves  and  most  of  our  associates  in  these  pursuits  throughout 
the  union,  destitute  of  the  needful  Scientific  knowledge,  without 
the  Books,  apparatus  and  needful  means  of  illustrating  our  pur- 
suits, ignorant  of  many  principles  and  processes,  which  if  known 
would  greatly  relieve  our  toil,  augment  our  products  and  our 
means,  elevate  ourselves  and  our  children  in  intelligence  and  vir- 
tue, and  add  greatly  to  our  own  comfort  and  prosperity,  and  to 
the  resources  of  the  State — What  we  have  learned,  we  have 
learned  empyrically,  by  the  slow  process  of  individual  experience, 
without  either  instruction  or  needful  schools  or  books  or  means. 
We  are  not  willing  to  leave  our  children  to  the  same  unaided  toil 
and  the  same  wasteful  empyricism — 

In  Europe,  through  polytechnic  and  Agricultural  schools, 
some  successful  effort  has  been  made  to  meet  this  great  want  of 
the  age  and  of  the  people.  In  our  own  country,  though  emi- 
nently industrial  and  practical  in  all  its  interests  and  aims,  no 
adequate  effort  has  ever  yet  been  made  to  meet  that  want,  though 
felt,  known,  and  seen  by  all — 

There  are  in  the  United  States  according  to  published  re- 
ports two  hundred  and  twenty  five  principal  colleges,  and  Uni- 
versities, etc.  (besides  many  smaller  ones),  devoted  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Professional  classes,  while  there  is  not  a  single  one  with 
suitable  endowments  designed  for  the  liberal  practical  education 
of  the  Industrial  classes. 


432  History  University  of  Illinois 

The  influence  of  such  institutions  on  all  our  mercantile  agri- 
cultural mining  and  mechanical  pursuits,  in  evolving  and  de- 
veloping the  resources  of  our  mines  and  soils,  perfecting  our 
material  products  and  arts — relieving  elevating  and  refining  our 
toil,  swelling  the  amount  of  our  national  wealth  and  resources, 
securing  to  our  people  intelligence  and  virtue  at  home,  respect 
and  confidence  abroad,  can  best  be  seen  and  felt  by  every  intel- 
ligent mind — It  is  an  object  in  all  respects  most  worthy  of,  and 
urgently  demanding  the  united  effort  of  our  national  strength. 
We  would  therefore  respectfully  petition  your  honorable 
body  to  authorise  an  appropriation  of  Public  lands  to  each  of 
the  several  states  of  the  Union  to  an  amount  of  not  less  than  500 
thousand  dollars  for  the  liberal  endorsement  of  a  system  of  In- 
dustrial Universities  cooperating  with  each  other  and  with  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington  in  each  State  in  the  Union ; 
for  the  liberal,  practical  education  of  our  industrial  classes,  in 
their  various  pursuits  for  producing  the  knowledge  and  litera- 
ture, needfully  adapted  to  those  pursuits,  and  developing  to  the 
fullest  and  most  perfect  extent  the  resources  of  our  soil  and  our 
arts,  and  especially  the  intelligence  refinement  and  virtue  of  our 
people,  and  the  true  glory  of  our  common  country — 

Aug.  C.  French,  Chair. 

D.  L.  Gregg 

L.  S.  Pennington 

(The  above  signatures  are  apparently  in  their  own  hand 
writing.) 


Letter — Murray  to  Turner  483 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  6 

Turner  rnanuscripts,  Springfield,  III. 

Ottawa,  Oct  20,  1854 
J.  B.  Turner 

Dear  Sir: 

I  have  a  letter  from  Dr.  Rutherford  in  which  he  says  you 
wish  to  know  Avhy  my  name  does  not  appear  as  one  of  the  com- 
mittee from  the  Sta  Agl.  Society  to  cooperate  with  the  "League" 
I  do  not  know — Dr.  R.  told  me  at  Spgfld,  that  I  was  appointed 
but  that  when  I  was  named  he  forgot  that  I  was  a  Member  & 
Director  of  the  ''League"  and  I  supposed  for  that  reason  I  was 
dropped.  I  think  it  just  as  well  I  shd.  be  off  as  on.  I  could 
work  without  being  seen,  and  the  effect  would  be  full  as  great. 
But  we  must  not  drop  the  name  of  Wm.  Ray  of  IMarion  County. 
He  and  Webster  are  solid  fellows  from  the  right  district. 

It  is  time  now  to  be  moving  about  election  indeed  I  fear  it  is 
too  late. 

A  circular  should  have  been  sent  to  each  director  to  have  the 
various  candidates  fully  committed  to  the  cause  and  their  replies 
all  returned  to  you  at  Jacksonville.  I  am  glad  to  see  the  whigs 
have  renominated  McClure  from  Bloomington — He  will  be 
Elected  and  is  mth  us. 

I  count  as  follows  in  the  house  as  certain — Two  from  this 
county  Two  from  Morgan — one  from  Bloomington  Chesnut  of 
Carlinville — Turner  of  Freeport  within  my  knowledge — . 

I  propose  that  the  State  Agl.  Society  should  now  purchase 
a  lot  of  the  League  Reports  and  send  several  copies  to  each  county 
Agl.  Society  with  a  request  that  they  would  co-operate  with  the 
State  Society  in  memorializing  the  Legislature,  and  send  the  me- 
morials to  Dr.  K.  (Kennicott).  This  will  help  pecuniarily  as 
well  as  otherwise.     I  will  see  the  Dr.  shortly. 

As  to  Dr.  Rutherford 's  pay.  Have  you  kept  an  account  with 
him  or  do  you  know  what  he  has  received  ?  If  not  there  should 
be  some  settlement  and  an  effort  made  to  secure  means  to  pay  him 
next  winter. 


484  History  Univer.sihj  of  Illinois 

When  Dr.  K.  comes  we  must  also  devise  means  for  calling  a 
general  educational  convention  to  be  held  at  Springfield  at  the 
same  time  with  the  State  Agl.  Society  meeting  in  June  next. 
Then  we  must  have  Prest.  Brown  authorize  Dr.  K.  to  invite 
Prest.  Allen  of  Farmers  College  to  address  the  Agl.  Society  on 
the  subject  of  Industrial  Education.  He  is  a  trump — a  finished 
scholar — elegant  speaker  and  sound  to  the  core  for  us.  We  must 
then  bring  him  into  the  educational  convention  to  face  the  fogy 
college  men  He's  just  the  man  and  will  come.  His  expenses  must 
be  paid  and  our  milch  cow  the  Society  must  be  made  to  do  it. 
This  can  all  be  done  easily  and  my  word  for  it  he  alone  will  take 
care  of  the  educational  Convention.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
have  all  our  friends  rally  and  attend.  Then  we  must  have  pre- 
pared a  bill  to  submit  to  the  Legislature.  This  should  be  your 
lot.  My  idea  upon  this  head  is  that  we  should  not  prescribe  any 
particular  course  to  be  pursued  in  all  detail  except  so  far  as  is 
now  successfully  practiced  by  some  existing  institution  and  that 
then  all  beyond  should  be  made  a  general  instruction  to  proceed 
as  fast  and  as  far  in  the  practical  as  their  future  experience  shall 
from  time  to  time  warrant. 

Perhaps  I  had  better  devote  a  sheet  to  our  outline  of  the 
idea.    I  have  enclosed  a  slip  from  Telegraph. 

Dr.  K.  will  be  here  about  the  25th.  I  know  you  will  not  be 
unwilling  to  get  this  from  me  altho  I  have  written  you  as  the 
ladies  say  ' '  last ' '    Yours 

Murray 


Suggestions  for  an  Industrial  University  435 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  7 

Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield,  III. 
Suggestions  for  Basis  of  Illinois  Industrial  University 

Take  for  general  outline  say  Farmer's  College,  Ohio,  then 
say 

1st.  The  dead  languages  shall  not  be  taught  at  least  til  the 
Institution  is  competent  to  give  a  full  course  in  all  the  practical 
&  useful  sciences  aided  by  all  the  instruments  and  apparatus 
needful  and  useful  in  demonstrating  and  elucidating  the  same. 

2nd.  A  large  ham  or  other  building  as  a  depository  for  ma- 
chines and  models  as  well  as  implements  to  be  used  upon  the 
farm. 

3rd.  Any  patentee  of  the  United  States  who  shall  send  to 
the  Institution  his  model  and  any  manufacturer  of  machines  or 
other  article  who  shall  send  a  fair  working  sample  of  his  manu- 
facture may  have  the  same  exhibited  under  such  general  rules 
as  the  Trustees  shall  provide  in  the  building  aforesaid.  Such 
machines  -models  to  become  the  property  of  the  Trustees. 

4th.  Lectures  upon  Mechanics  and  the  Sciences  generally 
(so  far  as  practicable)  to  be  given  with  the  machinery  and  ar- 
ticles they  relate  to  before  the  student,  demonstrating  what  is 
taught. 

5th.  This  barn  or  building  at  all  times  to  be  open  to  the 
public. 

6th.  There  shall  be  attached  to  the  Institution  not  less  than 
1000  acres  donated  b}^  the  people  among  whom  the  Institution 
is  located. 

7th.  A  portion  of  this  set  aside  for  sale  in  I/2  ^cre  lots  to 
persons  who  shall  contract  to  erect  residences  satisfactory  to  the 
Trustees    Sales  to  be  by  auction  yearly. 

8th.  Another  portion  set  apart  for  an  Experimental  farm, 
which  being  explorative  in  its  character  will  be  expected  to  sink 
money. 

9th.  Another  portion  set  apart  for  a  model  or  demonstra- 
tive fai-m  upon  which  will  be  shown  what  knowledge  is  acquired 


436  History  University  of  Illinois 

upon  the  last.  The  model  farm  not  only  must  not  be  chargeable 
to  the  Institution  but  is  expected  to  make  money.  Its  outfit  shall 
consist  of  the  land  it  covers  and  team  and  tools  sufficient  to  start 
two  men  to  the  work  upon  it  and  no  more.  Accounts  shall  be  ac- 
curately kept  charging  eveiy  thing  properly  falling  to  its  debit 
even  to  the  taxes  ordinarily  paid  upon  such  a  farm.  These  ac- 
counts together  with  a  history  of  the  operations  annually  made 
to  the  Legislature. 

10th.  Trial  of  Implements  Each  year  there  shall  be  a  trial 
of  all  implements,  open  to  the  public  (under  restrictions  by  Trus- 
tees) in  co-operation  with  the  State  Agricultural  Society  The 
trial  to  extend  through  the  entire  season  for  which  the  implement 
is  designed.     The  object  being  to  test  all  its  parts. 

11th.  The  location  to  be  central  not  north  of  Joliet  nor 
South  of  Salem  (if  it  can  be  avoided)  on  line  of  some  well  estab- 
lished R.  R.  &  to  be  given  to  that  place  subscribing  the  most 
pecuniarily  in  estimation  of  Trustees. 

12th.  The  Endowment  to  be  the  College  &  Seminary  fund 
of  the  State  with  any  additional  amount  hereafter  received  from 
U.  S.  for  high  Educational  purposes  together  with  the  funds 
which  may  be  raised  by  individuals  as  hereafter  provided. 

13th.  Whenever  any  individuals  citizens  of  this  state  not 
less  than  100  in  number  shall  subscribe  and  pay  into  the  treasury 
of  this  State,  to  the  credit  of  the  college  fund  a  sum  of  money  not 
less  than  the  amount  of  the  college  and  seminary  funds  (at  that 
time)  such  association  of  individuals  to  become  incorporated  and 
known  as  the  Corporation  of  the  Illinois  State  Industrial  Uni- 
versity.    The  Trustees  of  which  shall  be  selected  as  follows. 

14th.  Upon  the  selection  of  the  trustees  the  Entire  College 
and  Seminary  fund  to  become  vested  in  and  subject  to  their 
draft  (upon  vouchers  rendered)  except  the  principal  of  the  pres- 
ent college  Fund  which  shall  remain  untouched  and  the  interest 
shall  be  annually  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  President  and 
faculty  and  in  no  other  way. 

15th.  The  object  of  this  institution  being  to  disseminate 
knowledge  in  the  useful  arts  and  sciences  for  the  benefit  of  the 
working  men  mainly  and  to  build  up  at  the  same  time  a  good  con- 


Suggestions  for  an  Industrial  University  437 

stitution,  a  practiced  hand  and  a  sound  mind  in  each  of  its  grad- 
uates it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Trustees  to  introduce  from  time 
to  time  as  their  experience  shall  show  practicable  liberal  hours 
of  relaxation  from  study  and  a  devotion  of  so  many  hours  daily 
to  labor  as  shall  be  consistent  with  the  good  of  the  institution,  the 
storing  of  the  mind  and  the  development  of  the  man  in  the 
student. 

This  covers  B.  M.  idea  of  starting. 

(B.  M.  is  Bronson  Murray) 


438  History  University  of  Illinois 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  8 
Trumbull  manuscripts,  Library  of  Congress 

The  Grove 

West  Northfield  P.  0.  Cook  Co.  Ills,  Jan  25th  '58 
Hon  Lyman  Trumbull — 

Can  we  not  count  on  you,  my  dear  Sir,  to  advocate  the 
measure,  should  there  be  a  hope  that  Congress  may  seriously  en- 
tertain the  proposal  to  grant  lands  to  the  several  States  for  the 
establishment  of  Agricultural  Colleges!  I  suppose  you  know 
this  is  ' '  Illinois  thunder ' ',  and  you  have  a  right  to  it.  The  prin- 
ciple has  been  endorsed  by  our  Legislature — pressed  on  by  our 
State  society — and  adopted  by  nearly  all  our  associations — east 
and  west — and  has  many  friends  in  the  Slave  States  even. 

I  will  not  waste  your  time  with  arguments,  but  my  assurance 
that  nearly  every  thinking  agriculturist  of  the  Union  believes  in 
the  necessity  of  specific  education,  may  give  you  more  confidence 
to  work  for  us — if  you  see  any  chance,  in  the  present.  I  take  it 
for  gi'anted  that  you  are  aware  of  the  opportunities  I  have  had 
for  knowing  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  rural  brotherhood,  and 
can  therefore  judge  of  the  value  of  my  evidence — and  it  may  be 
well  to  add,  that  those  who  put  a  much  higher  estimate  on  my 
influence  than  is  due  to  it  have  urged  me  to  address  you  on  the 
subject.  My  own  opinion  is,  that  there  is  no  subject  before 
Congress,  of  one  half  the  National  importance  Slavery,  south,  is, 
I  take  it,  dangerous  only  through  the  dougJifaceism  of  the  North, 
and  the  enlightment  and  and  efficiency  of  free  labor  is  the  policy 
of  those  who  would  drive  that  out  of  Congress  and  the  adminis- 
tration. But,  pardon  me,  I  did  not  intend  to  say  more  than 
might  be  necessary  to  call  your  attention  to  the  question  of  aid 
to  the  paramount  interest  of  Agriculture. 

Cordially  and  Respectfully 

John  A.  Kennicott 
Pres.  Cook  Co — Ag'l  Society. 


Petitions  to  Congress  439 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  9 

Petitions  to  congress  for  a  grant  of  land  in  support  of  an  industrial 
university  or  agricultural  college  in  each  of  the  states  came  apparently  from 
Illinois  alone  during  the  years  1853-1857.  As  soon  as  the  bill  for  a  grant 
of  land  to  each  state  for  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  was  intro- 
duced in  congress,  December  14,  1857,  petitions  came  from  many  states. 
The  following  are  examples  of  the  various  kinds  of  petitions  on  the  subject 
sent  to  congress;  by  no  means  all  that  were  sent. 

Petitions  to  Congress 

House  Journal,  1st  Session,  33d  Congress. 

Bee.  23, 1853,  p.  138.  By  Mr.  John  Wentworth :  The  peti- 
tion of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  praying  for  a  grant  of 
land  and  the  appropriation  of  money  for  the  establishment  of  a 
University  in  each  State  of  the  Union  for  the  education  of  the 
working  classes ;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds. 

Jan.  16,  1854.  p.  207,  By  Mr.  Elihu  Washburne :  The  me- 
morial of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Carroll  county,  Illinois, 
for  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  or  normal  school  in  each 
State  in  the  Union;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Agriculture. 

Jan.  18,  1854,  p.  240.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Craige,  Ordered, 
That  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  be  dis- 
charged from  the  further  consideration  of  the  petition  of  the 
chairman  and  board  of  supervisors  of  Cooke  County,  Illinois,  for 
the  establishment  of  a  college  for  the  laboring  classes  in  each 
State  of  the  Union,  and  that  the  same  be  laid  on  the  table. 

Mar.  16,  1854,  p.  516.  By  Mr.  Norton :  The  memorial  of 
the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Bureau  county,  Illinois,  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  industrial  university  in  the  several  States  of 
the  Union ;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

Mar.  20,  1854,  p.  527.  By  Elihu  B.  Washburne :  The  peti- 
tion of  the  Kane  County,  Illinois,  Agricultural  Society,  for  the 
establishment  of  a  university  for  the  working  classes  in  each 
State  of  the  Union;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Agriculture. 


440  History  University  of  Illinois 

Mar.  20,  1854,  p.  530.  By  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  by  unani- 
mous consent,  presented  joint  resolutions  of  the  legislature  of 
the  State  of  Illinois,  relative  to  the  establishment  of  industrial 
universities,  and  for  the  encouragement  of  practical  and  general 
education  among  the  people ;  which  were  laid  on  the  table,  and 
ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mar.  27,  1854,  p.  562.  By  Mr.  Elihu  B.  Washburne :  The 
memorial  of  the  Lake  County,  Illinois,  Agricultural  Society,  for 
the  establishment  of  universities  for  the  working  classes;  which 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

Mar.  29,  1854,  p.  577.  By  Mr.  James  C.  Allen :  The  me- 
morial of  the  county  court  of  Richland  county,  Illinois,  for  a 
grant  of  land  to  endow  an  industrial  college  in  each  State  in  the 
Union ;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

April  7,  1854,  p.  609.    By  Mr.  James  C.  Allen:     The  me- 
morial of  the  county  court  of  Logan  county,  Illinois,  for  a  grant 
of  land  to  each  State  sufficient  to  endow  a  State  industrial  uni- 
versity ;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 
House  Journal,  1st  and  2d  Sess.  34tJi  Cong.  1855-56. 

Mar.  10, 1856,  p.  654.  By  Mr.  Norton :  The  petition  of  the 
"State  Educational  Convention,"  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  pray- 
ing aid  for  the  establishment  of  industrial  universities. 

Mar.  19, 1856,  p.  692.  By  Mr.  E.  B.  Washburne :  The  peti- 
tion of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  praying  for  a  grant  of  land 
for  an  industrial  university. 

Petitions  to  Congress 

Senate  Journal,  1st  Sess.  33d  Congress,  1853-54. 

Mar.  20,  1854,  p.  268.  Mr.  Shields  presented  a  petition  of 
the  judge  and  associate  justices  of  the  county  court  of  Shelby 
county,  Illinois,  relative  to  the  establishment  of  industrial  uni- 
versities in  the  several  States;  which  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Lands. 

Mr.  Shields  presented  resolutions  of  the  legislature  of  Illi- 
nois in  relation  to  the  establishment  of  industrial  universities  in 
the  several  States;  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Public  Lands. 


Petitions  to  Congress  441 

Senate  Journal,  1st  and  2d  Sess.  34t1i  Congress,  1855-56. 

Jan.  28,  1856,  p.  72.  Mr.  Trumbull  presented  a  memorial 
of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Illinois  State  Educational  Con- 
vention, praying  a  donation  of  land  to  each  State  in  the  Union 
for  the  endowment  of  an  Industrial  University  in  each  State; 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 
Journal  of  the  Senate,  May  22, 1858,  p.  504. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  Stuart,  Ordered,  That  the  Committee  on 
Public  Lands  be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration  of  the 
following : 

Eesolutions  of  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey,  in  favor  of  a 
donation  of  public  lands  to  that  State,  in  common  with  other 
States,  for  establishing  agricultural  colleges;  a  memorial  of  the 
legislature  of  Minnesota,  praying  a  donation  of  land  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  agricultural  college  in  that  State ;  a  resolution 
of  the  legislature  of  California,  in  favor  of  a  donation  of  lands 
to  the  States  and  Territories  for  agricultural  colleges  therein ;  a 
memorial  of  the  legislature  of  Iowa,  praying  a  donation  of  land 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  scientific  agricultural  schools  in 
that  State ;  resolutions  of  the  legislature  of  Michigan,  in  favor  of 
a  donation  of  land  for  the  endowment  of  the  Michigan  agricul- 
tural college ;  a  memorial  of  the  Michigan  State  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, praying  that  a  grant  of  land  may  be  made  for  the  endow- 
ment of  the  agricultural  college  of  that  State,  and  similar  insti- 
tutions in  every  State  in  the  Union;  resolutions  passed  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Oneida  County  Agricultural  Society  of 
New  York,  in  favor  of  the  endowment  and  maintenance  of  a  col- 
lege in  each  State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States  to  teach 
such  branches  of  learning  as  relate  to  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts;  a  memorial  of  members  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  the  State  of  Michigan,  and  of  the  faculty  of  the  agricultural 
college  of  that  State,  praying  a  donation  of  land  for  the  agricul- 
tural college;  a  petition  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural 
College  for  an  appropriation  of  public  lands  for  an  agricultural 
college  in  each  State  of  the  Union ;  a  petition  of  the  Ohio  State 
Board  of  Agriculture,  praying  that  a  donation  of  land  may  be 
made  to  each  of  the  States  for  the  establishment  of  agricultural 
colleges ;  a  memorial  of  the  regents  of  the  University  of  Michigan, 


442  History  University  of  Illinois 

praying  a  donation  of  land;  resolutions  of  the  New  York  State 
Agricultural  Society,  recommending  a  grant  of  land  to  each  State 
and  Territory  and  District  of  Columbia  for  the  endo^vment  and 
maintenance  of  agricultural  colleges ;  a  memorial  of  the  directors 
and  faculty  of  Farmers'  College,  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  pray- 
ing a  grant  of  land  to  the  several  States  and  Territories  for  the 
establishment  of  agricultural  colleges  therein ;  a  petition  of  citi- 
zens of  New  London  county,  Connecticut,  praying  that  a  grant  of 
land  be  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  Col- 
lege; a  petition  of  inhabitants  of  Michigan,  that  a  donation  of 
land  be  made  for  the  use  of  the  "Michigan  Agricultural  Col- 
lege;" a  memorial  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  "The  Farmers' 
High  School  of  Pennsylvania,"  praying  a  grant  of  land  for  the 
endo^vment  of  that  institution ;  a  petition  of  the  State  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  Michigan,  praying  that  a  liberal  donation  of 
public  land  be  made  for  the  promotion  of  agricultural  education 
in  that  State;  a  memorial  of  Sallie  Eola  Reneau,  praying  an  ap- 
propriation of  a  portion  of  unappropriated  public  land  in  the 
State  of  Mississippi  for  the  purpose  of  endowing  the  State  Female 
College  of  Mississippi ;  a  memorial  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Protestant  University  of  the  United  States  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
praying  that  that  institution  may  be  endowed  by  a  grant  of  pub- 
lic land ;  a  memorial  of  the  officers  of  the  Oakland  County  Agri- 
cultural Society,  praying  a  donation  of  land  to  each  of  the  States 
for  the  encouragement  and  promotion  of  agricultural  education 
therein ;  a  petition  of  the  Calhoun  County  Agricultural  Society, 
Michigan,  praying  that  a  liberal  donation  of  public  land  be  made 
to  Michigan  and  other  states  for  the  promotion  of  agricultural 
education. 

From  House  Journal 

House  Journal,  p.  144 — Mr.  Corning  Petition  Citizens  of  N.  Y. 
Jan.  7,  '58.  for  Agrl.  Schools. 

House  Journal,  p.  151 — By  Mr.  Morril,  p.  151.    Petition  of  eiti- 
Jan.  11,  1858.  zens  of  Vermont  to  endow  colleges  for 

benefit  of  Agrl.  and  Mechanical  Arts. 

House  Journal,  p.  170 — By  Mr.  Leach. 
Jan.  11,  1858. 


Petitions  to  Congress  443 

Citizens  of  Mich,  for  grant  to  the  several 
states  to  aid  in  endowing  and  mainte- 
nance of  Agrl,  Colleges. 

House  Journal,  p.  174 — By  Mr.  English 

Jan.  15,  1858.  Memorial  of  citizen  of  Indiana  praying 

an  act  granting  lands  for  the  support  of 
an  Agrl.  college  in  each  state. 

House  Journal,  p.  184 — Mr.  Parker 

Jan.  18,  1858,  Citizens  of  N.  Y.  for  lands  for  Agrl.  col- 

lege and  Mech.  Arts  to  several  states  and 
territories. 

House  Journal,  p.  219 — Mr.  Howard 

Jan.  21,  1858.  Memorial  of  citizens  of  Mich,  a  grant  for 

Agrl.  Colleges. 

House  Journal,  p.  244 — By  Morrill. 

Jan.  26,  1858.  Citizen  of  Vermont,  petition  for  grant 

for  several  states  Agrl.  Colleges. 

House  Journal,  p.  244 — Mr.  Walbridge. 

Jan.  26,  1858.  Citzen  of  Mich,  petitions  a  grant  in  aid 

of  Agrl.  Colleges. 

House  Journal,  p.  252 — Oliver  A.  Morse. 

Jan.  29,  1858.  Petition  of  citizens  of  state  of  N.  Y.  pray- 

ing a  law  granting  land  to  several  states 
for  endowment  of  Agrl.  Colleges. 

House  Journal,  p.  285 — Mr.  Durfee 

Feb.  3,  1858.  Petition  of  Rhode  Island  Society  for  the 

Encouragement  of  Domestic  Industry, 
for  Agrl.  colleges  and  Mech.  Arts  in  sev- 
eral states  and  territories 

House  Journal,  p.  293 — Mr.  Royce 

Feb.  4,  1858.  Petition,  citizen  state  of  Vermont  grant 

for  Agrl.  colleges  and  Mech.  Arts. 

House  Journal,  p.  341 — Mr.  Waldron 

Feb.  8,  1858.  Petition  of  citizen  of  Mich,  grant  in  aid 

of  Agrl.  colleges 


444  History  University  of  Illinois 

House  Journal,  p,  351 — Mr.  Cox 

Feb.  9,  1858  Memorial  of  State  Board  of  Agrl.  for  a 

grant  of  land  for  an  Agrl,  College.    Re- 
ferred to  Com.  on  Agrl. 
House  Journal,  p.  406 — Mr.  Potter 

Feb.  19,  1858.  Petition  of  State  of  Wisconsin  grant  of 

land  to  several  states  for  endowing  in- 
dustrial schools 
House  Journal,  p.  413 — Mem.  citizens  of  Pennsyl.  for  appropria- 

Feb.  23,  1858.  tion  for  Agrl.  Colleges 

House  Journal,  p.  439 — Mr.  Clawson 

Mar.  22,  1858.  Memorial  citizens  of  N.  Jersey  for  grant 

of  public  lands  to  provide  colleges  of 
Agrl.    and    Mechanic    Arts    in    several 
states  and  territories 
House  Journal,  p.  483 — Mr.  Dick 

Mar.  12,  1858.  Mem.  of  Citizen  of  Penn.  public  lands  to 

endow  colleges  of  Agrl.  and  Mech.  Arts 
in  several  states  and  territories 
House  Journal,  p.  544 — Morrill 

Mar.  25,  1858.  Petition  of  citizen  of  New  Hampshire 

grant  to  each  state  and  territory  in  aid 

of  Agrl.  Science 

House  Journal,  p.  597 — Joint  Resolution  of  Legislature  of  New 

Apr.  7,  1858.  Jersey  asking  a  grant  of  public  lands 

for  Agrl.  Colleges 

Petitions  from  citizens  of  Vermont 
p.  151  Mr.  Morrill,  Jan.  1. 


p- 

261 

J          } } 

,  two  petitions,  Jan.  19 

p. 

238 

5                      J  5 

,  Jan.  25 

p. 

244 

>                     >  J 

,     "    26 

p. 

257 

5                      ?  > 

,  Feb.  1 

p- 

293 

'     Royee, 

Feb.  4 

p. 

298 

> 

Feb.  5 

p- 

417 

'    Morrill 

Feb.  24,  two  petitions 

p- 

472 

>          >  > 

,  Mar.  10 

p. 

483 

'    Royce, 

Franklin  Co.,  Vermont,  Mar.  12 

Petitions  to  Congress  445 


35th  congress,   , 

1st  Session.         \           SENATE. 

1   MIS.   DOC. 

;     No.  202. 

MEMORIAL 

OF  THE 

LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  IOWA, 

PRAYING 

A  donation  of  land  for  tlie  purpose  of  estahlisJiing  scientific 
agricultural  scJwols  in  tJiat  State. 


March  17,  1858.— Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


MEMORIAL  TO  CONGRESS  FOR  A  GRANT  OF  LAND  FOR  THE  SUPPORT  OF 
AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGES  AND  SCIENTIFIC  AGRICULTURE. 

To  tJie  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  tJie  United  States : 
Your  memorialists,  the  general  assembly  of  the  State  of 
Iowa,  respectfully  represent  in  your  honorable  body  that  the 
farmers  of  the  State  of  Iowa  are  exceedingly  desirous  to  establish 
a  scientific  agricultural  college  and  schools  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  freely  to  all  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  great  truths  and 
fundamental  principles  of  nature,  whereby  all  may  become  fully 
acquainted  with  the  properties  of  the  earth,  the  vegetable  king- 
dom, and  the  peculiar  adaptation  of  plants  to  certain  soils,  and 
likewise  to  obtain  a  complete  laiowledge  of  animals,  that  their 
stock  may  be  brought  to  the  highest  state  of  perfection. 

Your  memorialists  sincerely  believe  that,  by  conferring  this 
great  privilege  upon  the  respectable  portion  of  community,  you 
would  thereby  add  greatly  to  the  interests  of  all  branches  of  in- 
dustry, by  bringing  rapidly  to  perfection,  and  increasing,  the 
products  of  the  farmer. 

Your  memorialists  would  further  say,  that  as  it  has  been  a 
practice  of  your  honorable  body  to  make  munificent  grants  of 
land  for  the  endowment  of  schools  and  universities ;  and  that  in 
all  cases  the  interest  of  that  class  of  community  which  is  generally 


446  History  University  of  Illinois 

termed  the  backbone  of  trade  and  commerce  has  been  entirely 
overlooked : 

"We,  therefore,  do  respectfully  ask  a  donation  of  50,000  acres 
of  land,  to  be  taken  from  the  public  lands  in  this  State,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  scientific  agricultural  schools. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  of  state  be  instructed  to  send 
certified  copies  of  the  foregoing  memorial  to  each  of  our  repre- 
sentatives and  senators  in  Congress. 

STEPHEN  B.  SHELLEDY, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
ORAN  FAVILLE, 

-.  n..^      1  r,  locro  President  of  the  Senate. 

Approved  March  3,  1858. 

RALPH  P.  LOWE. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  from  the 
original  roll  on  file  in  my  office. 

ELIJAH  SELLS, 

Secretary  of  State. 

35th  CONGRESS,   )  (  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \  SENATE.  j     No.  157. 


RESOLUTIONS 

OP 

THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  MICHIGAN, 

I  IN 

Favor  of  a  donation  of  land  for  the  endowment  of  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  College. 


February  15, 1858.— Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


JOINT  RESOLUTION  RELATIVE  TO  AN  APPROPRIATION  OF  A  GRANT  OF 
LAND  FOR  THE  ENDOWMENT  OF  THE  MICHIGAN  AGRICUL- 
TURAL COLLEGE. 

Whereas  a  memorial  has  been  presented  to  Congress  by  the 
board  of  education  and  the  president  and  faculty  of  the  Michigan 


Petitions  to  Congress  447 

Agricultural  College,  praying  for  a  grant  of  land  as  an  endow- 
ment of  said  Michigan  Agricultural  College ;  and 

Whereas  we  believe  that  the  practical  working  of  the  Michi- 
gan Agricultural  College  fully  vindicates  the  feasibility  and  cor- 
rectness of  the  principles  upon  which  it  is  founded.  Therefore — 
Resolved,  That  our  senators  in  Congress  be  instructed  and 
our  representatives  requested  to  use  all  honorable  means  to  secure 
the  passage  of  a  law  in  accordance  with  the  memorial. 

Resolved,  That  the  governor  be  requested  to  forward  copies 
of  the  foregoing  preamble  and  resolution  to  each  of  our  senators 
and  representatives  in  Congress. 

GEOROE  A.  COE, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
BYRON  G.  STOUT, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Approved  January  29,  1858. 

KINSLEY  S.  BINGHAM. 

STATE  OF  MICHIGAN,       ) 

'  ss 
Office  of  Secretary  of  State,  ^ 

I,  John  McKinney,  Secretary  of  State,  do  hereby  certify 
that  I  have  compared  the  foregoing  copy  of  a  joint  resolution 
passed  by  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Michigan  with  the  orig- 
inal, now  on  file  in  this  office,  and  that  it  is  a  true  copy  thereof. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed 
the  gi-eat  seal  of  the  said  State  at  Lansing,  this  4th  day 
[L.  S.]    of  February,  A.  D.  1858. 

JOHN  McKINNEY, 

Secretary  of  State. 


448  History  University  of  Illinois 

35TII  CONGRESS,  )  \  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \  SENATE.  ]      No.  46. 

MEMORIAL 

OF  THE 

LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  WISCONSIN, 

PRAYING 

A  grant  of  land  for  the  purpose  of  estahlisMng  an  Agricultural 

College. 


February  17,  1859. — Ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed. 


MEMORIAL  TO   CONGRESS  FOR  A  GRANT   OF  LAND  FOR  AN  AGRICUL- 
TURAL COLLEGE. 

To  tJie  Jionorahle  tJie  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  tJie 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled: 
Memorial  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  rep- 
resents : 

That  we  are  eminently  an  agricultural  State,  and  feeling 
deeply  the  want  of  a  fountain  head,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  col- 
lect and  distribute  information  upon  the  subject  of  agriculture, 
and  the  mechanic  arts  connected  therewith,  thus  drawing  to  a 
common  centre  the  results  of  individual  skill  and  observation, 
and  from  whose  teaching  shall  be  diffused  a  knowledge  of  the 
science  and  arts  thus  acquired ;  and  further,  that  the  subject  is 
one  well  worthy  of  the  most  profound  consideration : 

Therefore,  your  memorialists  respectfully  ask  that  an  ade- 
quate amount  of  public  lands  be  donated  to  this  State  by  Con- 
gress for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  Agricultural  College, 
under  such  regulations  as  may  be  hereafter  prescribed. 

The  governor  of  this  State  is  hereby  requested  to  transmit  a 
copy  of  this  memorial  to  each  of  our  senators  and  representatives 
in  Congress. 

WM.  P.  LYON, 

Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 
E.  D.  CAMPBELL, 
Lieutenant  Governor  and  President  of  tJie  Senate. 
Approved  February  11,  1859. 

ALEX.  W.  RANDALL. 


Petitions  to  Congress  449 


ss. 


STATE    OF    WISCONSIN, 

Secretary's  Office, 

The  secretary  of  State,  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  does 
hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  memorial  has  been  compared 
with  the  original  memorial  in  this  office,  and  that  the  same  is  a 
true  and  correct  copy  thereof  and  of  the  whole  of  such  original. 
In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  af- 
fixed the  great  seal  of  the  State,  at  the  capitol,  in  Madi- 
[L.  S.]    son,  this  twelfth  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1859. 

J.  D.  RUGGLES, 

Assistant  Secretary  of  State. 


35th  CONGRESS,  )  j  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \  SENATE.  )     No.  224. 


RESOLUTIONS 

OF  THE 

LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY, 

IN  FAVOR  OF 

A  donation  of  public  lands  to  that  State,  in  common  with  the 

other  States  of  the  Union,  for  the  founding  and  maintaining 

of  agricultural  colleges  therein. 


April  5,  1858. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  and 
ordered  to  be  printed. 


STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    RELATIVE    TO    OBTAINING    FROM    THE    UNITED 

STATES  A  DONATION  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS  FOR  THE  FOUNDING 

AND  MAINTAINING  OF  AN  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 

IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

1.    Be  it  resolved  hy  the  senate  and  general  assembly  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  That  the  senators  and  representatives  in 


450  History  University  of  Illinois 

Congress  of  this  State  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  requested  to  use 
their  best  exertions  to  obtain  from  the  general  government  a  do- 
nation of  public  lands  to  this  State,  in  common  with  the  other 
States  of  the  Union,  for  the  founding  and  maintaining  in  each  of 
the  several  States  of  an  agricultural  college,  for  the  promotion 
of  the  science  and  practice  of  agriculture ;  and,  for  that  purpose, 
to  favor  any  proper  bill  which  is  now  depending,  or  which  shall 
hereafter  be  presented,  before  the  two  houses  of  Congress,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  may  be  to  secure  such  donation. 

2.  And  he  it  resolved,  That  the  governor  of  this  State  be, 
and  he  is  hereby,  requested  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
to  each  of  our  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress. 

Approved  March  18,  1858. 

STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY: 

I,  Thomas  S.  Allison,  secretary  of  state  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  joint 
resolutions  passed  by  the  legislature  of  this  State,  and  approved 
March  18,  1858,  as  taken  from  and  compared  with  the  original 
now  on  file  in  my  office. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  af- 
fixed my  official  seal,  at  Trenton,  in  said  State,  this  2d 
[L.  S.]    day  of  April,  A.  D.  1858. 

THOMAS   S.   ALLISON, 

Secretary  of  State. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  JERSEY 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  April  2,  1858. 
I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  copy  of  joint  reso- 
lutions passed  by  the  legislature  of  this  State,  agreeably  to  the 
requirements  of  said  resolutions. 

Most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  A.  NEWELL, 

Governor  of  New  Jersey. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  WRIGHT. 


Petitions  to  Congress  451 

35th  congress,  )  \  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \  SENATE.  ]     No.  183. 

RESOLUTION 

OF  THE 

LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND  AND 
PROVIDENCE  PLANTATIONS, 

IN  FAVOR  OF 

A  donation  of  puUic  lands  to  the  several  States  and  Territories 

to  aid  and  encourage  scientific  education  in  agriculture 

and  the  mechanic  arts. 


March  4,  1858. — Read  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


State  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations. 

January  Session,  A.  D.  1858. 

resolution  relative  to  the  appropriating  of  public  lands  of 

the  united  states  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture 

and  the  mechanic  arts. 

Resolved,  That  the  senators  from  this  State  be  instructed, 
and  the  representatives  be  requested,  to  use  their  exertions  in 
Congress  for  the  passage  of  an  act  donating  public  lands  to  the 
several  States  and  Territories  in  the  Union,  for  the  aid  and  en- 
couragement of  scientific  education  in  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  of  state  be  instructed  to  trans- 
mit a  copy  of  the  above  resolution  to  each  of  the  members  of 
Congress  from  this  State,  immediately  after  its  passage. 

A  true  copy.     Attest : 

JOHN  R.  BARTLETT, 

Secretary  of  State. 


452  History  University  of  Illinois 

State  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations. 

SECRETARY'S  OFFICE, 

Providence,  February  22,  1858. 
SIR :  Prefixed,  I  beg  leave,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution 
of  the  general  assembly  of  this  State,  to  transmit  you  resolutions 
which  have  just  passed  that  body,  in  relation  to  an  act  now  before 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  for  the  donation  of  public 
lands  to  the  several  States  and  Territories  in  the  Union  which 
may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts. 

With  high  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  remain  your  most 
obedient  servant, 

JOHN  R.  BARTLETT, 

Secretary  of  State. 
Hon.  Phillip  Allen, 

United  States  Senate. 

35th  congress,  )  (  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \  SENATE.  (     No.  184. 

RESOLUTION 

OF 

THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MAINE 

IN  FAVOR  OF 

The  distribution  of  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  among  the  sev- 
eral States  for  educational  purposes. 


March  4,  1858. — Ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed. 


STATE  OF  MAINE. 

RESOLVE  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  A  PORTION  OP  THE 
PUBLIC  LANDS  BELONGING  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Resolved,  That  our  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress 
be  requested  to  use  their  efforts  to  procure  a  fair  and  equitable 


Petitions  to  Congress  453 

distribution  of  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  belonging  to  the 
United  States  among  the  several  States  for  educational  purposes. 
Resolved,  That  the  governor  be  requested  to  transmit  to  each 
of  our  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress  a  copy  of  these 
resolves. 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

February  24,  1858. 


Read  and  passed. 


Read  and  passed. 


JOSIAH  H.  DRUMMOND, 

Speaker. 
In  Senate,  February  24,  1858 


SETH  SCAMMAN, 

President. 
Approved  February  26,  1858. 

LOT  M.  MORRILL. 

Office  of  Secretary  of  State, 
Augusta,  February  27,  1858. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  the  orig- 
inal deposited  in  this  office. 

NOAH  SMITH,  Jr. 

Secretary  of  State. 


454  History  University  of  Illinois 

35th  congress,  )  \  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \  SENATE.  ]     No.  259. 


RESOLUTION 

OF  THE 

LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

I  IN  FAVOR  OF 

A  donation  of  land  to  each  of  the  States  and  Territories  of  the 

Union  for  the  endowment  and  maintenance  of  colleges  for 

instruction  in  such  branches  of  education  as  pertain  to 

agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  and  natural  history. 


May  15,  1858. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands  and 
ordered  to  be  printed. 


CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION  RELATIVE  TO  A  COLLEGE. 

Whereas  the  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morril,  of  Vermont,  has  intro- 
duced into  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  a 
bill  for  the  endowment  and  maintenance  of  a  college  in  each 
State  and  Territory,  by  donating  to  each  State  and  Territory  a 
portion  of  the  public  lands ;  which  college  to  be  dedicated  and 
devoted  to  instructions  in  such  branches  of  education  as  pertain 
to  agriculture,  mechanical  arts,  and  natural  history ;  therefore — 

Be  it  resolved  hy  the  senate,  the  assembly  concurring.  That 
our  senators  be  instructed,  and  our  representatives  in  Congress 
requested,  to  use  all  honorable  exertion  necessary  to  the  passing 
of  the  aforementioned  bill  into  a  law. 

And  be  it  further  resolved.  That  his  excellency  the  governor 
be  requested  to  forward  to  our  senators  and  representatives  each 
a  copy  of  these  resolutions. 

WM.  E.  WHITESIDES, 

Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 

JAS.  WALKUP, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
OFFICE  OF  SECRETARY  OF  STATE, 
Sacramento,  California,  April  16,  1858. 


Petitions  to  Congress  455 

I,  Ferris  Forman,  secretary  of  state  of  the  State  of  Califor- 
nia, do  hereby  certify  that  the  annexed  is  a  true  and  correct  copy 
of  concurrent  resolution  relative  to  a  college,  now  on  file  in  my 
office. 

Witness  my  hand  and  the  great  seal  of  State  at  office  in  Sac- 
ramento, California,  the  16th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1858. 
[L.  S.]  FERRIS  FORMAN, 

Secretary  of  State. 


35th  congress,  )  HOUSE  OF  l  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \     REPRESENTATIVES      j      No.  99. 


ENDOWMENT  OF  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGES. 


RESOLUTIONS 

OF  THE 

STATE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  OF  NEW  YORK, 

FOR 

The  distribution  of  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  to  the  States  and 
Territories,  for  the  benefit  of  agricultural  colleges  therein. 


March  16,  1858. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 


AGRICULTURAL  ROOMS. 

Albany,  February  10,  1858. 

ANNUAL  MEETING. 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  presented,  and 
unanimously  adopted : 

On  motion  of  Mr.  E.  C.  DIBBLE,  seconded  by  L.  F.  ALLEN, 
Whereas  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States  are  the  com- 
mon property  of  the  whole  Union,  and  in  their  distribution  should 
be  applied  for  the  general  good  of  the  whole ;  and  as  it  has  been 
the  established  policy  of  the  government  to  set  apart  a  portion  of 


456  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  public  lands  for  the  purposes  of  education,  and  believing  that 
no  disposition  of  the  lands  can  be  made  which  will  more  com- 
pletely promote  the  prosperity  of  our  whole  country,  than  by  the 
appropriation  of  portions  of  the  same  for  the  establishment  of  a 
system  of  agricultural  colleges  in  the  several  States  and  Terri- 
tories and  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  for  the  education  of  the 
industrial  classes :     Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  be 
requested  to  grant,  during  the  present  session  of  Congress,  to  the 
several  States  and  Territories  and  to  the  District  of  Columbia,  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  the  public  lands  to  endow  and  maintain  ag- 
ricultural colleges  in  each  State  and  Territory  and  in  the  District 
of  Columbia ;  and  that  we  approve  of  the  main  features  of  the  bill 
introduced  into  Congress  by  the  Honorable  Mr.  Morrill,  as  well 
calculated  to  carry  out  the  objects  contemplated. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  be  directed  to  furnish  each 
member  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  with  a  copy 
of  the  above  resolution. 

In  pursuance  of  the  resolution  above  adopted,  I  forward  you 
the  preceding  preamble  and  resolutions,  respectfully  asking  your 
attention  to  the  same. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 
B.  P.  JOHNSON, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 
HON.  JOHN  COCHRANE. 


Petitions  to  Congress  457 

35th  congress,  )  HOUSE  OF  \  MIS.  DOC. 

1st  Session.         \      REPRESENTATIVES     ]      No.  82. 

PUBLIC  LANDS  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES. 


PREAMBLE  AND  RESOLUTION 

OF  THE 

KENTUCKY  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 

IN   RELATION   TO 

TJie  appropriating  of  a  portion  of  tlie  public  domain  for  scliool 

purposes.  i 


March  15,  1858. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 


PIERCE  VALLEY,  February  19,  1858. 
SIR :     Your  attention  is  respectfully  asked  to  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  passed  unanimously  by  the  board  of  di- 
rectors of  the  Kentucky  State  Agricultural  Society,  at  a  meeting 
held  in  the  city  of  Frankfort,  on  the  10th  to  the  13th  instant : 

' '  Whereas  a  bill  has  been  introduced  into  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  appropriating  a  portion  of  the  natural  domain  for 
the  endowment  of  a  school,  in  each  State  of  the  Union,  for  the 
education  of  farmers  and  mechanics:  Therefore,  as  the  sense 
of  this  board — 

"Resolved,  That  the  Kentucky  State  Agricultural  Society, 
and  the  farmers  and  mechanics  of  Kentucky,  do  most  cordially 
approve  of  said  measure,  so  far  as  it  is  known  to  them,  without 
distinction  of  party  as  to  national  politics,  and  that  our  senators 
and  representatives  in  Congress  are  requested  to  use  all  reason- 
able and  honorable  efforts  to  promote  its  passage." 
Respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

W.  D.  GALLAGHER, 
Secretary  Kentucky  State  Agricultural  Society. 


458  History  University  of  Illinois 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  10 

Seminary  Contract. 

Original  manuscript  at  the  University  of  Illinois. 

This  agreement  made  and  entered  into  this  2nd  day  of  July 
1860,  by  and  between  Jonathan  C.  Stoughton  of  Freport  Ills. 
John  E.  Babcock  of  Aurora  Ills  and  George  Harvey  of  Fort 
Edward  Washington  County  New  York  of  the  first  part  And 
Joseph  W.  Sim  Jr  William  Park  William  H.  Romine  Carter  F. 
Columbia  John  H.  Thomas  and  James  S.  Wright  of  the  County 
of  Champaign  and  State  of  Illinois  of  the  Second  part 

Witnesseth  that  Whereas  the  parties  of  the  first  part  are 
the  owners  in  fee  of  the  lands  hereinafter  designated  situated 
in  Champaign  County  Illinois  towit : 

Beginning  at  the  South  East  Corner  of  Section  Seven  (7) 
Township  No.  nineteen  19  North,  of  Range  No.  Nine  (9)  East, 
thence  North  ten  (10)  Chains,  Thence  North  Seventy  Six  (76) 
degrees  West  Twenty  (20)  Chains  and  Sixty  links  (60)  more  or 
less  to  a  point  fifteen  (15)  chains  North,  of  the  South  West  Cor- 
ner of  the  South  East  quarter  of 

The  South  East  quarter  of  said  Section  Seven  (7)  Thence 
South  fifteen  (15)  chains  to  the  South  West  Corner  of  the  South 
East  quarter  of  Said  Section  Seven  (7)  Thence  East  on  Section 
line  to  the  place  of  beginning.  Also  all  that  piece  or  parcel  of 
land  towit:  beginning  at  a  point  one  hundred  and  Sixty  two 
(162)  links  South  of  the  South  East  Corner  of  the  North  West 
qr  of  the  South  East  qr  of  Said  section  Seven  (7)  Thence  North 
Sixty  three  (63)  degrees  West  Twenty  two  chains  and  forty  two 
(42)  links  more  or  less  to  the  Center  line  North  and  South  of 
Said  section  Seven  (7)  Thence  South  on  said  line  to  the  South 
West  Corner  of  the  South  East  qr  of  said  section  Seven  (7) 
Thence  East  on  section  line  to  the  South  East  Corner  of  the  South 
West  qr  of  the  South  East  qr  of  said  section  Seven  (7)  thence 
North  to  the  place  of  beginning.  Containing  831/3  acres  of  land 
more  or  less  Also  the  South  West  qr  of  the  NE  qr  And  the 
South  half  of  lot  No.  One  (1)  of  the  North  West  qr  of  Section 
No.  Seven  (7)  Town  Nineteen  (19)  North  Range  Nine  (9)  East 


Seminary  Contract  459 

Also  all  of  Wright  and  Romine's  addition  to  Urbana  according 
to  the  recorded  Plot  as  recorded  in  Book  "W  of  Deeds  on  page 
314,  in  the  Recorders  office  of  Champaign  County  Illinois  said 
plot  containing  Forty  Six  and  forty  eight  hundredth  (46  48/100) 
acres  including  Streets  and  Alleys  said  streets  and  alleys  having 
been  heretofore  released  to  the  public  by  said  Wright  and  Ro- 
mine  in  said  Plot,  excepting  so  much  of  said  plot  as  is  contained 
in  Block  "  A  "  lying  south  of  Church  Street  in  said  Plot. 

And  at  the  instance  and  request  of  the  parties  of  the  Second 
part  and  for  and  in  Consideration  of  the  premises  and  under- 
taking of  the  parties  of  the  second  part  as  hereinafter  mentioned, 
have  been  induced  to  plot  and  lay  off  all  of  said  land  into  town 
lots  except  eight  acres  thereof,  and  to  build  and  construct  upon 
said  eight  acres  suitable  buildings  for  a  Seminary  of  Learning, 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  parties  of  the  second  part  and  such 
others  as  may  be  entitled  thereto  as  hereinafter  provided — The 
parties  of  the  fii'st  part  for  themselves  and  for  their  heirs  hereby 
covenant  and  agree  to  and  with  the  parties  of  the  second  part 
their  heirs  and  assigns  that  in  the  compliance  by  the  parties  of 
the  second  part  of  the  covenants  hereinafter  mentioned  on  their 
part  to  be  done  and  performed  they  the  parties  of  the  first  part 
will  within  a  reasonable  time  thereafter  lay  off  and  Plot  all  said 
land  except  eight  (8)  acres  of  the  south  west  qr  of  the  South  East 
quarter  of  Section  Seven  (7)  Township  Nineteen  (19)  ninth 
Range  Nine  (9)  East  into  To-vvn  Lots  four  rods  by  Eight  rods 
each  in  dimension,  so  far  as  the  grounds  will  admit  with  suitable 
Streets  and  Alleys,  corresponding  with  and  making  connections 
with  the  Streets  and  Alleys  of  Champaign  City  on  the  East  side 
of  the  Ills  Cent  R.R.  That  they  wdll  between  the  first  day  of  Au- 
gust 1860  and  the  15th  day  of  November  1862  upon  a  plot  or 
piece  of  the  said  south  west  qr  of  the  South  East  qr  Section  Seven 
(7)  Township  Nineteen  (19)  North  Range  Nine  (9)  East  em- 
bracing Eight  (8)  Acres,  construct,  build  and  finish  for  use  a 
Seminary  building  with  substantial  Stone  foundation  and  brick 
walls  of  equal  size  capacity  and  of  the  general  form  and  model  of 
the  Clark  Seminary  at  Aurora,  111.  provided  Clark  Seminary 
were  built  of  brick  to  be  constructed  built  and  finished  with  good 
and  fit  materials  and  in  a  workmanlike  manner — 


4G0  nistory  UnivcrsH]/  of  Illinois 

That  any  modification,  change  or  addition  to  said  building 
shall  be  made  on  the  order  and  instruction  of  the  building  Com- 
mittee (Such  change  shall  be  made  before  said  building  is  com- 
menced) hereinafter  provided  for.  Provided  said  modification 
change  or  addition  shall  not  make  the  whole  cost  of  said  building 
Addition,  etc.  more  than  the  value  of  the  said  Clark  Seminary 
if  built  of  brick  and  at  the  present  time.  That  said  Town  lots 
when  laid  off  and  plotted  and  said  Seminary  when  completed 
with  the  said  plat  of  Eight  (8)  acres  upon  which  said  Seminary 
shall  be  constructed,  shall  be  made  a  general  Seminary  stock  or 
fund,  each  town  lot  representing  stock  at  the  average  value  of 
Two  Hundred  dollars  per  lot,  one  share  of  said  stock  being  one 
hundred  dollars 

And  the  parties  of  the  second  part  for  themselves  and  their 
heirs  hereby  covenant  to  and  with  the  parties  of  the  first  part 
that  they  will  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  August  1860  obtain 
and  deliver  to  the  party  of  the  first  part  and  to  and  for  their 
use  a  valid  legal  subscription  list  of  stock  to  the  satisfaction  and 
acceptance  of  a  majority  of  three  persons  one  to  be  selected  by 
the  parties  of  the  first  part,  one  by  the  parties  of  the  second 
part  and  an  umpire  to  be  selected  by  the  two  referees  aforesaid, 
to  the  amount  of  forty  thousand  dollars 

And  it  is  further  mutually  agreed  by  the  parties  that  the 
said  several  subscribers  on  paying  on  or  before  the  1st  February 
18G1  fifteen  per  cent  on  the  amount  of  their  respective  subscrip- 
tions, and  making  and  delivering  to  the  parties  of  the  first  part 
three  (3)  promisory  notes  for  the  residue,  due  in  equal  annual 
payments  with  six  per  cent  interest  per  annum  from  the  first  of 
Feby,  1861.  The  parties  of  the  first  part  will  permit  said  sub- 
scriber a  stockholder  to  select  a  town  lot  or  lots  not  at  that  time 
disposed  of,  to  the  amount  of  his  said  subscription  at  the  average 
price  aforesaid  and  will  execute  to  said  stockholder  his  heirs  or 
Assigns  a  penal  bond  conditioned  to  convey  by  deed  in  fee  the 
said  lot  or  lots  to  said  subscriber  or  his  heirs  or  assigns,  on  the 
payment  of  said  promissory  notes.  That  the  said  Stockholders 
shall  and  may  select  from  their  number  hereafter  a  building  com- 
mittee who  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  superintend 
said  building  in  its  construction  and  to  make  any  change  modi- 


Seminary  Contract  461 

fication  or  addition  to  said  building,  not  making  said  building 
cost  more  than  the  cost  of  said  Clark  Seminaiy  provided  said 
Clark  Seminary  were  built  of  Brick. 

And  the  parties  of  the  first  part  further  agree  to  and  with 
the  party  of  the  Second  part  that  on  receiving  from  subscription 
of  stock  the  whole  costs  of  constructing  and  building  said  Semi- 
nary and  the  said  lot  of  eight  acres  upon  which  the  same  is  con- 
structed, they  A^dll  convey  by  deed  in  fee  to  said  Stockholders  or 
trustees,  by  them  to  be  selected,  the  said  Seminary  and  the  land 
upon  which  it  is  situated.  That  they  will  build  and  construct  a 
good  substantial  and  suitable  wood  fence  enclosing  so  much  of 
said  plat  of  eight  acres  as  said  building  Committee  shall  decide. 
It  is  further  agreed  that  no  lots  shall  represent  voting  stock 
until  a  bonafide  sale  of  said  lots  on  the  terms  aforesaid  shall  be 
made 

In  testimony  whereof  the  said  parties  have  hereto  set  their 
hands  and  seals 

Jonathan  C.  Stoughton 

John  E.  Babcock 

George  Harvey 

Joseph  W.  Sims,  Jr 

James  S.  Wright 

Wm.  Park 

C.  F.  Columbia 


462  History  University  of  Illinois 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  11 

EXTRACT   FROM    CHAMPAIGN    COUNTY  DEMOCRAT, 

Urbana,  Jan.  26th,  1861 

A  MEMORIAL 

To  your  honorable  body  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  111. 

We,  your  petitioners,  of  Champaign  County,  and  State  afore- 
said in  view  of  the  rising  importance  of  the  agricultural  interests 
of  our  state,  as  well  as  nation,  and  the  necessity  of  investing  that 
interest  with  intelligence,  respectability,  and  the  efficiency  that 
science  in  its  present  stage  of  advancement  can  now  endow  it,  do 
offer  the  following  reasons,  and  urge  through  them  the  necessity 
that  some  provision  be  made  during  the  present  term  of  the 
Legislature,  for  a  Department  of  Agricultural  Education,  under 
the  patronage  of  the  State,  and  that  the  same  may  be  located  in  a 
portion  of  the  State  where  educational  facilities  are  not  already 
supplied.  There  are  two  obvious  necessities  for  such  a  branch  of 
education :  one  to  give  a  higher  direction  to  the  laboring  classes 
of  our  State,  and  an  emulation  more  commendable  than  mechani- 
cal imitation  such  as  the  laborer  acquires  by  habitual  drill ;  and, 
secondly,  to  make  experimental  science  subserve  the  purposes  of 
public  economy.  For  the  first  object  we  deem  it  necessary  not 
only  to  maintain  separate  chairs  of  instruction  on  the  Natural 
Sciences,  but  to  create  and  encourage,  also,  in  association  with 
those  studies,  ample  demonstration  in  the  same,  from  collections 
of  the  various  products  of  the  various  soils,  both  of  natural  and 
cultivated  growth;  also  the  geological  specimens  of  the  earth's 
strata,  the  Botany  of  the  earth,  her  mineralogy,  conkology,  and 
chemical  transformations;  of  oiTiithology,  zoology,  comparative 
anatomy  and  the  collation  of  mechanical  improvements,  and  in- 
tellectual productions  of  American  genius.  In  a  word,  we  hold 
that  an  Agricultural  Bureau,  under  the  State  jurisdiction  and 
support,  should  be  thus  associated  with  such  a  seminary,  there- 
by bringing  the  young  and  inquiring  mind  directly  in  contact 
with  the  objects  of  his  pursuit.     We  hold  that  it  is  the  youth  of 


A  Memorial  to  the  Legislature  463 

our  country  who  can  be  most  benefited  by  such  a  state  depart- 
ment, rather  than  the  more  aged  and  opulent,  who  by  their  means 
alone  can  gain  access  to  such  valuable  departments.  Thus  far 
they  are  secluded  under  the  umbrage  of  the  State,  and  national 
capital,  precluding  the  youthful  and  indigent  by  the  necessary 
formality  of  official  parade. 

Everything  in  science  and  art,  which  has  been  developed  by 
genius  and  industry,  is  by  the  force  of  irresistible  progress  dedi- 
cated to  the  ambition  of  youth.  For  the  more  especial  promotion 
of  the  second  object  mentioned  above,  to  wit,  to  make  science  sub- 
serve the  purpose  of  public  economy,  we  recommend  that  there  be 
a  sufficiency  of  land  of  good  quality  attached  to  such  a  seminary, 
that  will  facilitate  experimental  results  in  such  practical  depart- 
ments, as — transplanting,  inoculating,  grafting,  hybridizing, 
mulching,  draining,  substitution  of  foreign  for  home  products, 
adapting  certain  crops  to  certain  soils,  and  anticipating  the  re- 
sults of  cropping  and  rotation  from  a  knowledge  of  the  food  of 
plants  and  grains — what  is  consumed  in  abundance  by  one  crop 
can  be  noted,  and  a  successive  crop  so  selected  that  shall  not  de- 
pend for  perfection  on  the  same  staple.  This  depends  on  a 
knowledge  of  the  staples  of  vegetables  consumption — an  investi- 
gation in  the  loose  customs  of  inbreeding  amongst  our  pro- 
ducts is  of  equal  importance,  endangering  thereby  the  perfection 
of  the  fruit  or  grain,  and  consequently  their  fitness  for  the  food 
of  man  or  Tjeast,  jeopardizing  also  by  it,  the  integrity  of  the 
growth  of  products,  often  causing  their  premature  decay,  also 
abortion  and  unnatural  growth,  and  the  ultimate  extermination 
of  the  species.  We  are  led  to  notice  such  results  in  the  present 
growth  and  maturity  of  potatoes,  wheat,  apples,  grasses,  etc. 
Also  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  diseases  incident  to  crops  of  a 
constitutional  decline,  such  as  congestion,  gangrene,  etc.,  the  cause 
of  parasites,  and  the  propagation  of  larva,  and  development  of 
insects  which  becomes  their  natural  enemy.  Another  important 
source  of  inquiry  is  the  extent  to  which  the  natural  and  deciduous 
gro^vths  of  every  soil  (taking  climate  into  account)  can  be  made 
to  indicate  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  nature  of  its  productions 
— every  hoof  that  compacts  the  earth,  every  stone  that  is  turned, 
and  every  leaf  that  falls,  gives  some  new  indication  of  growth. 


464  Ilistoru  Uiiivcrsiiij  of  Illinois 

It  is  cquallj^  important  to  comprehend  the  physiology  generally 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  afterwards  the  pathological  condi- 
tion, caused  by  chemical  changes,  effects  of  light,  heat,  electricity, 
and  other  natural  causes. 

We  beg  leave  to  impress  the  truth  that  our  county,  in  a  geo- 
graphical position,  north  and  south,  and  east  and  west,  offers  the 
very  best  facilities  for  such  investigation.  Being  central  between 
the  northern  and  southern  extremity  of  a  State,  whose  latitude, 
and  climate,  and  geological  features,  conduce  to  the  growth  of 
such  families  of  plants  that  on  the  one  hand  are  tending  to  the 
tropical,  and  on  the  other  more  carbonaceous  in  their  elements, 
and  of  the  more  torrid  or  southern  in  nature — we  are  enabled  to 
comprehend  them  both  in  our  field  of  scientific  research.  We 
also  beg  leave  to  suggest  that  we  are  in  a  region  of  country  com- 
paratively new  comprehending  nearly  half  the  eastern  half  of  the 
state,  with  soil  unsurpassed  in  fertility,  at  prices  within  the  reach 
of  those  aiming  to  avail  themselves  of  advantages  compatible  with 
our  agricultural  tastes  and  enterprise,  while  the  north,  the  west 
and  the  southwest  portions  are  amply  supplied.  For  the  want  of 
such  inducements  to  invite  in  immigrants,  our  vast  grand  prairie 
is  yet  sparsely  settled.  Once  grant  to  this  eastern  part  of  the  State 
the  patronage  of  the  treasury,  and  the  immigration  it  will  entice 
here,  will  amply  reward  in  revenue  and  scientific  toil,  all  that 
may  be  expended.  Situated,  too,  as  we  are,  upon  the  branch  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  where  a  college  of  that  character 
must  become  a  valuable  beneficiary  to  that  road,  and  thru'  it  to 
the  State,  we  suggest  that  it  is  not  inappropriate  to  ask  that  a 
portion  of  the  7%  fund  arising  from  the  road,  be  set  apart  for 
that  purpose,  thus  reflecting  back  for  the  future  encouragement 
of  that  gigantic  enterprise  a  generous  part  of  her  ov/n  earnings. — 
We  also  suggest  that  we  have  in  process  of  erection  an  edifice  of 
124  by  118  ft,  five  stories  high,  estimated  at  $80,000  located  be- 
tween Urbana  and  Champaign  on  some  eight  or  ten  acres  of  land, 
designed  to  comprise  an  agricultural  department,  which  the 
stockholders  propose  to  donate  to  the  State,  for  the  consideration 
that  they  sustain  in  it  an  institution  characterized  as  above ;  and 
further  say  that  should  your  honorable  body  deem  it  not  politic  to 
receive  the  building  and  conduct  the  school  as  aforesaid,  wholly 


A  Memorial  to  tJie  Legislature 


465 


by  state  appropriations,  we  ask  respectfully  that  you  endow  an 
agricultural  department  therein,  in  association  with  the  academic 
course  where  practical  science  can  be  made  available  in  develop- 
ing men  for  the  age,  and  mind  for  the  necessities  of  a  progressive 
people.     For  which  Ave  will  ever  pray. 


C.  A.  Hunt 
Wm.  Park 
0.  M.  Cutcheon 
W.  N.  Coler 
J.  C.  Sheldon 
W.  D.  Somers 
S,  Bernstein 
T.  S.  Hubbard 
J.  W.  Jaquith 
A.  M.  Ayers 
Jesse  Burt 
H.  C.  Stewart 
Jas.  S.  Wright 
C.  M.  Sherfy 
Wm.  Biddle 
C.  T.  Columbia 
J.  Mills 

J.  C.  Kirkpatrick 
James  Myers 
C.  W.  Angle 
Joseph  Nelson 


W.  C.  Barrett 
L.  Hodges 
A.  H.  Beasley 
John  Mather 
J.  G.  Clark 
Sam'l  Waters 
James  T.  Roe 
John  Insley 
J.  D.  Bennett 
W.  W.  Espey 
C.  A.  Thompson 
G.  W.  Flynn 
J.  0.  Cunningham 
Joseph  Wilson,  Jr. 
L.  M.  Cutcheon 
J.  R.  IngersoU 
M.  Lindley 
William  Sim 
J.  P.  Stryker 

A.  Campbell 

B.  F.  Harris 


W.  H.  Romine 
W.  W.  Beasley 
John  Bryan 
Edwin  Pearce 
J.  S.  Beasley 
J.  B.  Phinney 
B.  F.  Fillmore 
J.  L.  Austen 
G.  W.  Riley 
A.  0.  Woodworth 
George  Custer 
L.  Powell 
L.  Lancaster 
Henry  Michener 
J.  F.  Kelly 
Ed.  A.  Green 
Asa  Conklin 
L.  B.  Varney 
Wm.  Munhall 
T.  R.  Webber 


468  Ilistonj  Univcrsihj  of  Illinois 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  12 

Published  in  Private  Laivs,  February  21,  1861,  p.  24,  also  in  Central 
Illinois  Gazette,  (Champaign)  May  1,  1861. 

AN  ACT  TO  INCORPORATE  THE  URBANA  AND 
CHAI^IPAIGN  INSTITUTE. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  tlie  people  of  tlie  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  tlie  General  Assembly,  That  B.  F.  Harris, 
William  Park,  J.  T.  Everett,  John  Insley,  J.  S.  Wright,  John 
Penfield,  J.  W.  Sim,  Jr.,  C.  F.  Columbia  and  Henry  Nelson,  and 
such  other  persons  as  are,  or  may  hereafter  be  associated  with 
them,  and  their  successors,  are  hereby  constituted  a  body  cor- 
porate by  the  name  of  the  Urhana  and  Cliampaign  Institute,  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining  a  Seminary  of 
Learning,  comprehending  an  agricultural,  or  other  departments, 
as  the  public  may  demand,  situated  between  the  cities  of  Urbana 
and  Champaign,  in  the  county  of  Champaign,  and  State  of  Illi- 
nois, for  males  and  females,  with  power  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  take 
and  to  hold  real  estate  and  other  property,  by  purchase,  gift, 
grant,  devise  or  otherwise;  to  lease,  convey  and  dispose  of  the 
same  for  the  effecting  and  furtherance  of  the  purposes  aforesaid, 
with  power  to  confer  degrees  and  give  diplomas,  such  as  are  com- 
mon in  such  institutions,  and  to  use  a  common  seal. 

SEC.  2.  The  estate,  property  and  financial  concerns  of  said 
corporation  shall  be  managed  and  ti'ansacted  by  a  Board  of  nine 
Trustees,  to  be  elected  by  the  stockholders  herein  after  mentioned. 

SEC.  3.  The  persons  named  in  the  first  section  of  this  act 
shall  constitute  the  first  board  of  trustees,  and  shall  be  divided 
by  lot  into  three  classes.  The  time  of  service  of  the  first  class 
shall  expire  on  the  last  Tuesday  in  June,  A.  D.  1862,  and  that 
of  the  second  class  in  one,  and  that  of  the  third  class  in  two 
years  thereafter. 

SEC.  4.  There  shall  be  a  board  of  visitors,  who  shall  jointly 
Avith  the  trustees  appoint  the  teachers  and  officers,  arrange  the 
course  of  instruction  and  determine  the  general  manner  of  con- 
ducting said  institution.     Said  board  of  visitors  shall  be  consti- 


Act  Incorporating  the  Urhana-CJiampaign  Institute     467 

tuted  as  follows,  to-wit:  the  Grovernor,  Secretary  of  State  and 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of  the  State  of  Illinois; 
the  Presidents  of  the  State  Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Soci- 
eties, and  such  visitors  from  each  of  any  organized  religious  de- 
nomination within  the  limits  of  the  congregational  district  in 
which  the  said  Institution  is  located,  as  may  be  appointed  by 
their  Conference,  Synod,  Association  or  Convention,  Provided, 
that  no  more  than  three  visitors  shall  be  appointed  by  the  same 
denomination. 

SEC.  5.  On  the  last  Wednesday  of  June,  1862,  and  on  the 
same  day  of  each  year  thereafter,  there  shall  be  an  election  of 
three  Trustees,  who  shall  hold  their  office  for  three  years.  All  va- 
cancies in  the  Board  of  Trustees  then  existing  shall  also  be  filled. 
Such  election  shall  be  by  ballot,  and  by  a  majority  of  stockholders 
present. 

SEC.  6.  The  real  estate  in  the  Seminary  plat,  as  now  laid 
out  into  lots  and  recorded  in  the  Recorder's  office  of  Champaign 
county  and  State  of  Illinois,  shall  represent  the  capital  stock  of 
said  corporation.  Said  capital  stock  may  be  increased  to  Two 
Hundred  Thousand  Dollars,  in  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars 
each. 

SEC.  7.  Any  person  holding  a  contract  or  deed,  for  one 
or  more  shares  of  said  capital  stock,  shall  be  a  member  of  this 
corporation,  and  entitled  to  one  vote  for  every  share  of  stock 
by  him  thus  held,  upon  which  all  installments  have  been  paid, 
required  by  contract.  Stockholders  shall  be  also  entitled  to  such 
dividends  on  their  stock  as  the  Trustees  may  from  time  to  time 
declare  thereon. 

SEC.  8.  The  Trustees  shall  choose  their  own  officers,  and 
make  their  own  by-laws,  and  maj^  fill  any  vacancies  in  their  body, 
by  appointment  of  qualified  persons  until  the  next  election. 

SEC.  9.  The  Trustees  at  each  annual  election  shall  make 
and  submit  a  report  to  the  stockholders,  of  the  state  of  the  Insti- 
tution and  its  finances,  with  an  inventory  of  its  property,  and  de- 
clare such  di\'idends  from  the  net  proceeds  and  profits  of  its 
receipts,  or  business  as  the  state  of  the  finances  of  said  Institution 
may  warrant:  Provided,  that  no  such  dividend  shall  ever  be 
declared  or  made  when  its  payment  would  embarrass  the  finances 


468  History  University  of  Illinois 

or  efficiency  of  the  Institution. 

SEC,  10.  The  real  estate  in  said  Seminary  plat,  so  long  as 
it  represents  the  capital  stock  of  said  corporation,  and  until  con- 
veyed to  said  stockholders  and  all  the  property  of  the  said  cor- 
poration, both  real  and  personal,  shall  forever  be  and  remain  free 
from  taxation. 

SEC.  11.     This  act  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  public  act,  and 
shall  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 
Approved  February  21,  1861. 

RICHARD  YATES,  Governor. 
SHELBY  M.  CULLOM, 

Speaker  House  of  Representat'vs. 
FRANCIS  A.  HOFFMAN, 

Speaker  of  the  Senate. 


ss. 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

State  of  Illinois. 

I,  0.  M.  Hatch,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 

do  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of 

an  Enrolled  Law,  now  on  file  in  my  office. — 

L.  S.     in  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 

affixed  the  Great  Seal  of  State  at  the  city  of  Springfield, 

this  18th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1861. 

0.  M.  HATCH,  Secretary  of  State. 


Proceedings  of  tlie  Sixih  Convention  469 

DOCUMENT  NU]\ffiER  13 

Prairie  Farmer,  June   20,  18G3. 

PEOCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AGRICTULTURAL  CONVENTION 

(Sixth) 

Pursuant  to  a  call  issued  by  prominent  agriculturists  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  State,  The  friends  of  agriculture  assembled  in 
convention  at  the  rooms  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  in 
Springfield,  June  9tli,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  best 
method  for  the  legislature  to  dispose  of  the  lands  and  script  do- 
nated by  the  national  government  for  the  establishment  of  agri- 
cultural colleges  in  the  state. 

The  meeting  organized  at  2  o'clock  P.  M.,  of  said  day,  under 
the  following  officers; 

President — James  N.  Browni,  of  Sangamon  County 
Vice  Presidents — Hon.  Cyrus  Edwards,  of  Madison  County 
Hon.  L.  W.  Lawrence,  of  Boon  County 

Secretaries — W.  W.  Corbett,  of  Cook  County,  Thos.  Quick 
of  Washington  County. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  President,  John  P.  Reynolds,  Sec- 
retary of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  read  the  call  for  the 
convention  and  the  act  of  congress  donating  lands  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  colleges  in  the  different  states. 

On  motion  of  Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Morgan  county,  the 
President  appointed  a  committee  of  three  to  draft  resolutions 
appropriately  expressing  the  feelings  of  the  convention  concern- 
ing the  death  of  Dr.  John  A.  Kennicott.  Prof.  J.  B.  Turner, 
Rev.  J.  C.  Burroughs,  Jno.  P.  Reynolds,  were  appointed  such 
committee,  who  reported  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  that  in  the  death  of  Dr.  John  A.  Kennicott,  the 
members  of  this  convention  who  have  been  personally  associated 
with  him,  especially  in  labors  pertaining  to  the  agricultural  in- 
terests of  the  state,  have  lost  a  friend  whose  worth  they  will  ever 
respect,  and  whose  memory  they  will  affectionately  cherish. 


470  History  University  of  Illinois 

Resolved,  That  for  his  early  and  long  continued  labors  in 
behalf  of  the  agriculture  of  the  State,  his  large  and  enlightened 
views  respecting  the  developments  of  our  agricultural  resources, 
expressed  on  every  proper  occasion,  through  the  columns  of  the 
Prairie  Fanner,  and  in  meetings  of  the  friends  of  agriculture,  of 
which  he  has  been  for  many  years  an  earnest  promoter,  and  for 
his  generous  sacrifices  in  diffusing  agricultural  intelligence,  and 
in  promoting  intercourse  cooperation  and  organization  among 
farmers  and  friends  of  agriculture  in  the  State,  Dr.  Kennicott 
deserves  the  lasting  gratitude  of  all  who  have  at  heart  the  inter- 
ests of  our  beloved  State,  especially  of  its  agriculture. 

Resolved,  That  this  convention  extend  to  the  widow  and 
family  of  Dr.  Kennicott  the  assurance  of  our  sincere  sympathy 
in  their  deep  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  furnished  the 
press  for  publication,  and  that  the  Secretary  transmit  a  copy 
thereof  to  the  family  of  Dr.  Kennicott. 

Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,        \ 

Rev.  J.  C.  Burroughs,  V  Committee 

John  P.  Reynolds,  ) 


The  business  for  which  the  meeting  v/as  called  being  now 
fairly  before  the  convention,  G.  I.  Bergen,  Esq.,  of  Knox  county, 
introduced  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  the  inter- 
ests of  agriculture  can  best  be  promoted  by  locating  two  agricul- 
tural colleges  within  the  State. 

This  resolution  was  afterwards  amended,  on  motion  of  Dr. 
English,  of  Madison  county,  by  the  addition  of  the  words  "in 
accordance  with  the  bill  now  pending  before  the  Senate." 

A  strong  and  earnest  discussion  of  this  resolution,  and  ques- 
tions connected  with  it,  then  followed,  which  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  the  convention  during  the  afternoon  and  evening;  which 
was  participated  in  by  Messrs.  Bergen  of  Knox,  Turner  of  Mor- 
gan, Roots  of  Perry,  English  and  Edwards  of  Madison,  Bur- 
roughs of  Cook,  Thomas  of  Jackson,  Quick  of  Washington,  Law- 
rence of  Boone,  and  other  members  of  the  convention. 


Proceedings  of  tlie  Sixth  Convention  471 

Prof.  Turner  introduced  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions as  a  substitute  for  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Bergen : 

"WHEREAS,  Amid  the  excitement  of  civil  war,  our  rulers 
and  our  people  have  as  yet  had  but  little  time  to  reflect  and 
decide  upon  the  best  mode  of  appropriating  and  applying  the 
grant  of  lands  made  by  Congress  to  this  State,  for  the  purpose 
of  endowing  an  institution  for  the  more  perfect  education  of  our 
children  and  youth  in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  make  the 
wisest  and  best  possible  disposition  of  this  fund,  from  a  due  re- 
gard to  the  interest  of  the  whole  people  upon  whom  it  is  con- 
ferred ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  It  will  still  take  time  to  discuss  the  subject 
before  the  people  of  our  State,  and  receive  from  all  parties  who 
are  or  may  be  interested,  propositions  and  suggestions,  w^hich 
shall  be  for  the  best  advantage  to  the  people  of  the  State ;  there- 
fore, 

RESOLVED,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  convention  that  a 
committee  be  appointed  to  memorialize  the  Legislature  to  defer 
all  appropriation  of  said  funds  for  the  present  session,  and 
merely  take  all  needful  steps  to  render  its  acceptance  by  the 
State  permanent  and  secure,  and  also  a  committee  of  one  from 
each  congressional  district  of  this  State,  to  collect  and  report 
facts,  statistics,  suggestions,  and  proprositions,  in  regard  to  said 
proposed  institution,  to  report  to  the  committee  on  Agriculture, 
at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature. 

Upon  the  reading  of  this  resolution,  Dr.  English  motioned 
that  both  resolutions  be  laid  upon  the  table,  and  the  matter  left 
entirely  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Legislature. 

The  motion  was  lost. 

The  question  upon  the  substitute  for  the  original  resolution 
was  then  put,  and  the  substitute  adopted  by  the  convention. 

On  motion  the  chair  appointed  Prof.  J.  B.  Turner,  Felix 
Scott,  and  John  P.  Reynolds,  a  committee  to  memorialize  the 
Legislature. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Reynolds,  it  was  voted  that  the  committee 
"to  collect  and  report  facts,  statistics,  suggestions,  and  propo- 


472  History  University  of  Illinois 

sitions  in  regard  to  said  institution, ' '  should  be  constituted  of  one 
gentleman  from  each  congressional  district  of  the  State, 

The  chair,  with  the  aid  of  the  convention,  appointed  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  members  of  said  committee : 

1st    District — Henry  D.  Emery Chicago 

2nd        "     — L.  W.  Lawrence Belvidere 

3d  "     — W.  H.  Van  Epps Dixon 

4th         "      — W.  H.  Rosevelt Warsaw 

5th         ' '     — A.  C.  Mason Galesburg 

6th         "     — Lewis  Ellsworth Naperville 

7th         "     — Wm.  Kile Paris 

8th         "      — John  P.  Reynolds Springfield 

9th         "     — Thompson  Chandler Macomb 

10th         "     — J.B.Turner Jacksonville 

11th         "     — N.  M.  McCurdy Vandalia 

12th         "     — W.  C.  Flagg Moro 

13th         "     — B.  G.  Roots Tamaroa 

John  P.  Reynolds  was  designated  chairman  of  the  conven- 
tion pro  tern. 

On  motion  of  Prof.  Turner,  it  was  voted  that  the  secretaries 
prepare  the  minutes  of  this  convention  for  publication  in  the  city 
papers  of  Springfield,  and  the  agricultural  papers  of  the  State, 
and  that  the  press  generally  throughout  the  State  be  requested 
to  publish  the  same. 

The  motion  to  adjourn  was  then  put,  and  the  President 
declared  the  convention  adjourned  sine  die. 

Jas.  N.  Brown,  President. 
W.  W.  Corbett,  Secretary. 


Memorial  to  the  Sixth  Convention  473 

DOCUMENT  NUI^IBER  14 

Prairie  Farmer,  June  20,  1863, 
Sixth  Convention 

MEMORIAL. 

The  following  is  a  memorial  to  the  legislature  of  the  state, 
prepared  by  the  committee  of  the  agricultural  convention:  To 
the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Stale  of 
Illinois, 

The  undersigned  would  respectfully  represent  that  they  were 
appointed  a  committee,  by  the  state  convention  of  the  friends  of 
agricultural  and  mechanical  education  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
to  memorialize  your  honorable  body  in  respect  to  the  prospective 
use  of  the  lands  or  funds  granted  by  congress  to  the  State  of 
Illinois. 

It  is  well  knov/n  to  your  honorable  body  that  one  chief  motive 
urged  from  time  to  time  upon  congress,  to  induce  them  to  make 
this  grant  to  the  states,  was  the  fact  that  the  industrial  interests 
of  this  great  country  have  under  their  special  care  and  control 
no  great  educational  institutions ;  that  such  institutes,  thus 
placed  under  their  special  care,  and  devoted  to  their  special  uses, 
not  excluding  such  other  uses  or  ends  as  they  might  see  fit  inci- 
dentally and  collaterally  to  attach  to  them,  were  needful  not  only 
to  the  highest  practical  development  of  the  industrial  resources 
of  the  states,  and  the  highest  national  efficiency,  but  that  the 
responsibility  of  their  proper  control  and  use  was  equally  needful 
to  the  best  and  highest  mental  and  social  development  of  the 
people  themselves. 

In  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  and  a  majority  of  the  con- 
vention whom  they  represent,  therefore,  any  appropriation  of 
these  funds  which  v/ould  relieve  the  masses  of  the  people  of  the 
state  of  their  responsibility  and  care,  or  relieve  the  states  them- 
selves of  such  care,  by  attaching  them  in  any  secondary  position 
to  any  other  educational  institution  whatever  and  however  good 
in  itself,  would  to  that  extent  be,  in  fact,  a  real  perversion  of  the 
trust  conferred;  as  it  is  plain  from  the  terms  of  the  grant  that 


474  History  University  of  Illinois 

congress  intended  to  create  in  each  state  a  series  of  primary, 
leading  and  controlling  institutions,  having  in  themselves  an 
independent  vitality  and  power  of  their  own  constantly  reani- 
mated and  reinspired  from  the  people  whose  interests  they  are 
designed  to  foster ;  and  not  a  mere  series  of  appendages  or  satel- 
lites to  whose  interests  they  are  designed  to  revolve  around  and 
minister  to  other  institutions  however  needful  and  good  in  them- 
selves. How  this  end  can  be  reached,  will  require  much  time, 
thought,  care  and  patience  and  the  highest  wisdom  and  prudence 
from  year  to  year  of  your  honorable  body  and  your  successors, 
and  for  this  and  other  reasons  too  numerous  to  mention  in  this 
connection,  the  Convention  passed  the  following  resolutions  as 
expressive  of  their  opinion  of  the  course  of  action  which  will  at 
present  best  subserve  the  public  good. 

Signed :  J.  B.  Turner, 

Felix  Scott, 
John  P.  Reynolds. 


Resolutions  Offered  at  the  EigJith  Convention  475 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  15 
Illinois  State  Agricultural  Society  Report,  1861-1864,  p.  986 

EIGHTH   CONVENTION 

Preamble  and  Eesolutions  unanimously  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Farmers  and  Mechanics  of  Illinois,  held  on  the  State  Fair  Grounds  in 
Decatur,  September  15,  1864. 

Whereas,  The  industrial  interests  are  of  paramount  import- 
ance all  others  being  dependent  upon  their  prosperity :  and 

Whereas,  Congress  has  made  a  munificient  grant  of  four 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  acres  of  land,  the  proceeds  of  which 
are  to  be  used  for  the  endowment  of  an  Industrial  College  for  the 
promotion  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts :  and 

Whereas,  Certain  existing  institutions  of  learning  have 
sought  to  divide  this  fund  and  partition  the  same  among  them- 
selves :  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  distinctly  reiterate  that  the  industrial 
interests  of  this  state  are  one  and  indivisible ;  that  the  industrial 
classes  are  perfectly  competent  to  draft  a  plan  and  arrange  the 
details  for  the  proper  disbursement  of  this  fund. 

Resolved,  That  we  endorse  the  sentiments  contained  in  the 
resolution  of  the  Farmers'  Convention  held  at  Springfield  in 
June,  1863,  and  January,  1864,  that  there  should  be  but  one 
institution  created  out  of  this  fund,  and  that  it  should  be  entirely 
untrammeled  by  connection  with  any  existing  institution. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  industrial  classes  of  Illinois,  pledge 
ourselves  to  combine  to  use  our  utmost  efforts  for  the  advance- 
ment of  our  educational  interests,  and  laiOAving,  as  we  do,  that 
these  are  the  foundation  upon  which  the  permanent  prosperity 
of  the  nation  rests,  we  will  continue  to  labor  to  devote  this  fund 
sacredly  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended,  viz :  * '  The 
establishment  of  one  institution  in  this  state  in  which  the  leading 
object  shall  be  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related 
to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. ' ' 

Resolved,  That  as  the  aforesaid  sciences  are  intimately  con- 
nected with  true  progress  in  agriculture,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 


476  Ilisionj  UmvcrsUy  of  Illinois 

portancc  tliat  this  institution  receive  an  endowment  commen- 
surate with  the  magnitude  of  the  object  in  view. 

Resolved,  That  seeing,  feeling  and  knowing  the  want  of  prac- 
tical education  in  our  several  employments,  we  are  determined  to 
provide  a  better  state  of  things  for  our  posterity. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  support  no  man  for  office,  whatever 
his  political  associations  may  be,  unless  we  have  full  assurance 
that  he  will  labor  to  carry  out  our  views  in  this  matter  as  herein 
expressed. 

Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  present  candidates  for  the 
office  of  Governor  of  this  state  as  pledged  in  favor  of  using  this 
fund  as  contemplated  in  these  resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  we  refer  "all  whom  it  may  concern"  to  the 
foregoing  preamble  and  resolutions  as  embodying  our  "claim" 
in  the  premises. 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  appoint,  Wm.  H.  Van  Epps,  J.  B. 
Turner,  John  P.  Reynolds,  A.  B.  McConnell,  and  B.  G.  Roots  as 
a  committee  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  frame  a  bill,  and  urge  its 
passage  by  the  next  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  for  the  or- 
ganization of  an  institution  and  the  disposition  of  the  fund  as 
contemplated  by  the  act  of  Congress  making  the  grant,  and  in 
accordance  vdih  these  resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  we  request  all  the  newspapers  in  this  State 
to  publish  these  resolutions. 

CHAS.  D.  MURTFELDT,   Cliairman. 
0.  B.  GALUSHA,  Secretary. 


The  Chicago  Committee  at  Home  477 

DOCUMENT  NUIMBER  16 

Prairie  Farmer,  December  17,  1864. 

THE  CHICAGO  COINOOTTEE  AT  HOME.— The  commit- 
tee from  the  mechanics  of  Chicago,  who  visited  Springfield  last 
week,  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  wdth  the  agricultural  com- 
mittees regarding  a  bill  for  the  disposition  of  the  land  grant  made 
their  report  at  the  rooms  of  the  Mercantile  Association,  in  this 
city,  on  Saturday  evening  last,  through  their  chairman,  A.  D. 
Titsworth  Esq.     It  was  as  follows : — 

''In  pursuance  of  the  object,  your  committee  left  for  Spring- 
field on  Monday  evening,  and  on  reaching  there  proceeded  to  the 
rooms  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  and  found  several  of 
the  above  named  committee  present,  but  not  being  ready  for 
business,  owing  to  the  absence  of  some  of  their  members,  it  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  Reynolds,  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  to  orga- 
nize an  informal  meeting,  which  was  done  by  calling  Mr.  K.  H. 
Fell,  of  Bloomington,  to  the  chair,  and  Mr.  T.  W.  Baxter,  of 
Chicago,  was  appointed  secretary.  The  Chicago  delegation  was 
cordially  received  and  invited  to  a  full  and  free  participation  in 
the  business  before  the  meeting.  It  was  determined  on  the  part 
of  your  committee,  prior  to  the  meeting,  to  advocate  a  division  of 
the  fund — one  half  for  the  endowTnent  of  an  agricultural  school, 
and  one  half  for  a  school  adapted  to  the  promotion  of  the  me- 
chanic arts.  Your  committee  regard  this  division  as  a  necessity 
growing  out  of  the  different  circumstances  of  the  two  classes 
contemplated  in  the  act.  Agriculture  being  widely  spread 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  State,  necessarily  demands 
that  an  institution  of  learning  for  that  class  should  be  centrally 
located,  equally  accessible  to  all,  and  where  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  lands  may  be  obtained  for  practical  purposes.  On  the  other 
hand  it  was  urged  that  mechanics  necessarily  locate  in  cities, 
towns  and  villages,  where  there  are  sufficient  population  to  en- 
courage and  sustain  mechanical  pursuits,  and  that  it  Avas  even 
more  necessary  to  connect  practice  with  theory  in  mechanism 
than  in  agriculture ;  therefore  it  was  contended  that  schools  for 
mechanic  arts  are  the  most  extensively  conducted,  and  where  the 


478  History  University  of  Illinois 

fitiident  in  theory  may  at  the  same  time  have  an  opportunity  to 
reduce  theory  to  practice.  And  your  committee  further  con- 
tended that  a  college  located  in  an  agricultural  district,  remote 
from  mechanical  centres,  would  necessarily  be  of  little  practical 
benefit  to  the  mechanic,  and  would  virtually  subvert  the  appro- 
priation and  partially  defeat  its  object.  These  and  many  other 
matters  were  presented  by  the  several  members  of  your  commit- 
tee, tending  to  show  the  necessity  for  a  division  of  the  fund  and 
the  location  of  the  mechanical  branch  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 

' '  A  division  of  the  fund  was  strenuously  opposed  by  several 
members  of  their  committee — First,  because  the  appropriation 
was  not  sufficient  to  sustain  two  institutions ;  that  both  would  be 
weak  and  inefficient,  and  therefore  defeat  the  object  of  the  appro- 
priation. And  again  it  was  argued  that  while  the  act  contem- 
plated one  or  more  schools,  it  nevertheless  declares  that  the  same 
branch  of  study  shall  be  taught  in  each.  Others  contended  that 
it  was  not  legal  under  the  act  to  divide  the  appropriation  at  all, 
and  that  the  Supreme  Court  would  issue  an  injunction  should 
the  fund  be  divided.  Others  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  they 
would  apply  for  an  injunction  should  the  legislature  order  a 
division.  These,  and  many  other  objections,  were  made  and 
kindly  discussed  by  the  several  committees. 

"Your  committee  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  committee 
authorized  to  draft  a  bill  to  be  presented  to  the  legislature  will 
not  encourage  the  idea  of  a  division,  but  will  use  all  their  influ- 
ence against  it.  Their  committee  claim  that  they  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  location,  but  will  leave  that  entirely  with  the  legis- 
lature, but  would  suggest  that  the  institution  be  located  where  the 
largest  amount  of  material  aid  would  be  furnished,  be  that  as  far 
north  as  Chicago,  or  as  far  south  as  Cairo. ' ' 

Mr.  Ira  Y.  Munn  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report.  He  al- 
luded to  the  great  assistance  the  mechanic  had  afforded  the 
farmer  in  the  construction  of  the  present  farm  machinery,  and 
urged  the  necessity  of  fostering  the  mechanic  arts.  He  favored 
the  idea  of  a  division  of  the  fund,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
separate  school  in  this  city. 


The  Chicago  Committee  at  Home  479 

Mr.  T.  W.  Baxter,  read  an  elaborate  paper  sustaining  the 
same  ideas,  and  taking  the  ground,  on  legal  advice,  that  the  word- 
ing of  the  act  of  Congress  is  not  adverse  to  a  division. 

The  report  was  then  adopted. 

Several  other  gentlemen  supported  the  positions  advanced. 

Mr.  Emery,  of  the  PRAIRIE  FARMER,  opposed  a  division, 
and  claimed  that  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  act  were  both  against 
separate  schools  as  proposed  by  the  committee  and  gentlemen. 

Mr.  Charles  Walker  moved  that  the  meeting  do  now  proceed 
to  form  a  permanent  organization.     Carried :     and 

On  motion,  the  chair  appointed  Messrs.  Walker,  Carter,  and 
Baxter,  a  committee  on  permanent  organization. 

The  committee  reported  the  following  as  permanent  officers : 
President — Charles  Walker ;  Vice  President — P.  W.  Gates ;  Sec- 
retary— A.  B.  Cook. 

Executive  Committee — Ira  Y.  Munn,  W.  W.  Boyington,  R. 
T.  Crane,  A.  D.  Titsworth,  J.  K.  Hazlitt,  T.  W.  Baxter  and  W. 
H.  Carter. 

The  report  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Charles  Walker  moved  that  a  committee  be  appointed 
to  collect  statistics  of  the  manufactures  of  the  city  of  Chicago, 
and  county  of  Cook,  and  the  State  generally.     Carried :     and 

Messrs.  Charles  Walker,  A.  B.  Cook,  G.  W.  Schneider  and 
H.  D.  Emery  appointed. 

Mr.  Baxter  moved  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to 
draw  a  bill  to  present  to  the  legislature,  embodying  the  views  of 
the  meeting.     Carried :  and 

Messrs.  T.  W.  Baxter,  Ira  Y.  Munn,  and  M.  C.  Parsons,  were 
appointed  such  a  committee. 

Mr.  Schneider  m.oved  that  the  officers  be  empowered  to  col- 
lect subscriptions  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  organi- 
zation.    Carried. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned. 

There  is  no  use  in  those  who  favor  a  single  institution,  where 
the  leading  object  shall  be  to  teach  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 


480  History  University  of  Illinois 

arts,  shutting  their  cj'cs  to  this  inovcmciit,  for  it  is  really  a  for- 
midable affair,  and  it  is  in  the  hands  of  men  who  will  use  every 
argument  to  carry  their  point  with  the  legislature.  They  are 
backed  up  by  the  citizens  of  a  rich  and  growing  city,  who  will 
offer  no  mean  inducements  for  the  establishment  of  the  proposed 
school  within  her  limits. — Eds. 


Report  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors  481 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  17 
Record  Book  Board  of  Supervisors,  No.  Ill,  March  2,  1866. 

REPORT   OF   THE   COMMITTEE   SENT   TO   THE  BLOOMINGTON   AGRICUL- 
TURAL CONVENTION  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  SUPERVISORS  OF 
CHAMPAIGN   COUNTY. 

To  the  Honorable  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Champaign  County: 

By  a  resolution  passed  by  your  Honorable  body  at  its  last 
meeting,  Clark  R.  Griggs,  A.  H.  Bailey  and  Daniel  Gardner  were 
appointed  a  Committee  to  attend  a  Convention  to  be  held  at 
Bloomington  on  the  14th  daj^  of  December  1865,  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  the  subject  of  future  legislative  action  appertaining 
to  the  location  of  the  Agricultural  College.  The  two  last  named 
gentlemen,  not  being  able  to  attend  the  Convention,  appointed 
as  their  substitutes,  W.  H.  Pierce,  and  J.  C.  Sheldon. 

Your  Committee  thus  organized  beg  leave  to  report,  that 
they  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  aforesaid  resolu- 
tion attended  the  Convention.  Your  Committee  will  not  attempt 
to  give  a  full  detail  of  the  doings  of  the  Convention,  supposing 
that  most,  if  not  all  of  the  members  of  the  Board  have  read  them 
as  published  in  the  papers ;  but  will  only  refer  to  the  proceedings 
in  a  general  way.  We  would  most  especially  ask  the  attention  of 
the  Board  to  the  resolutions  passed  and  the  Committee  who  re- 
ported them.     The  resolutions  are  as  follows. 

WHEREAS,  The  true  principles  of  education,  like  the  true 
principles  of  civil  government,  eveiywhere  require  the  greatest 
practicable  union,  co-operation,  and  concentration  in  all  its  higher 
departments,  combined  with  the  utmost  practical  diffusion  in  its 
lower  departments ;  therefore, 

RESOLVED,  That  the  State  of  Illinois  should  at  present 
attempt  to  build  only  one  University  of  the  highest  order,  and 
that  the  energies  and  resources  of  our  people  should  now  be 
directed  to  that  one  end,  and  the  undivided  funds  of  our  Con- 
gressional gi'ant  be  appropriated  thereto. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  approve  of  the  principle  of  location 
adopted  by  a  former  State  Convention,  and  presented  to  the  State 


482  History  University  of  Illinois 

Legislature  at  its  last  session  by  a  committee  of  State  Agricul- 
tural Society. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  approve  of  the  general  principle 
adopted  and  approved  by  all  parties  at  the  last  session  of  the 
Legislature,  that,  in  preparing  the  charter  for  the  University, 
all  mere  details  of  organization  and  government  should  be  left  to 
the  future  necessities  of  the  people  and  the  existing  Board  of 
Trust;  and  that  the  charter  of  the  University  should  limit  their 
freedom  only  on  those  points  indispensable  to  a  fundamental  law. 

RESOLVED,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  urge  these 
views  upon  the  next  Legislature. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  urge  upon  the  people  the  necessity  of 
keeping  the  principles  embodied  in  these  resolutions  before 
aspirants  to  office,  and  that  they  emphatically  reprobate  any  man 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature  who  is  unfavorable  to  these 
views. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  request  the  Chicago  and  Springfield 
papers,  and  all  other  papers  in  the  State,  to  publish  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  Convention. 

(Signed  by  each  member  of  the  Committee). 

From  the  knoA\Ti  views  of  the  Committee  who  drafted  these 
resolutions,  and  especially  the  Chairman,  Prof.  Turner,  you  will 
not  be  sui'prised  that  such  views  as  are  embodied  in  the  second 
and  fourth  resolutions  were  presented  to  the  Convention.  The 
whole  batch  were  at  first  attempted  to  be  forced  through  the 
Convention,  but  by  resolutions  offered  by  one  of  your  Committee, 
they  were  taken  up  for  consideration  seriatem.  Your  Committee 
did  not  see  much  to  condemn  in  the  other  resolutions  but  strenu- 
ously opposed,  by  speeches  and  their  votes,  the  passage  of  the 
second  and  fourth  resolutions,  as  did  a  number  of  others  from 
different  portions  of  the  State.  Your  Committee  would  here  say 
that  only  twenty  four  counties  out  of  the  One  hundred  and  two 
were  represented  in  the  Convention,  that  the  whole  affair  seemed 
to  be  gotten  up  to  further  the  interests  of  parties  who  urged  and 
supported  at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  the  Bill  known 
as  the  State  Agricultural  Society  Bill,  which  provided  to  locate 
the  College  by  a  Committee  appointed  by  the  Governor,  as  the 


Repoi't  to  tlie  Board  of  Supervisors  483 

language  of  a  resolution  offered  by  Mr,  Galusha,  one  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions  plainly  shows,  which  resolution  we  here- 
with submit : 

RESOLVED,  That  the  Committee  which  has  presented  the 
report  now  before  this  meeting  shall  constitute  the  committee 
contemplated  in  the  resolutions,  and  that  we  instruct  them  to 
secure  the  revision  of  the  bill  presented  to  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  at  its  last  session  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  State 
Agricultural  Society,  and  cause  1,000  copies  of  the  bill  to  be 
printed  also  that  they  be  instructed  to  secure  the  appointment  of 
sub-committees  in  each  of  the  representative  and  senatorial  dis- 
trict in  this  State,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  present  a  copy  of  said 
bill  to  each  and  every  person  whose  name  shall  be  before  the 
people  as  a  candidate  for  nomination  that  they  will  use  all  lauda- 
ble endeavors,  if  nominated  and  elected  to  secure  the  passage  of 
said  bill,  and  that  in  case  any  candidate  shall  refuse  or  neglect 
to  give  such  pledge  such  sub-committee  shall  publish  the  fact  of 
such  refusal  throughout  the  district  in  which  such  candidate 
resides  through  the  newspapers  published  therein. 

From  the  language  of  this  resolution  and  that  of  those  of- 
fered by  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  it  was  plain  that  the 
views  of  Prof.  Turner  and  those  acting  v/ith  him  were  to  be  the 
programme  for  the  action  of  the  next  legislature.  We  strenu- 
ously opposed  this  last  resolution,  but  as  it  seemed  to  be  a  cut 
and  dried  affair,  it  passed.  From  these  resolutions  and  the  action 
of  the  Convention,  your  Honorable  Board  and  the  citizens  of 
Eastern  Illinois  and  particularly  the  citizens  of  Champaign 
County  can  plainly  see  that  if  they  would  forestall  and  defeat 
the  projects  of  those  who  would  place  the  matter  of  location  in 
the  hands  of  a  Committee,  the  foremost  of  whom  will  be  Prof. 
Turner  of  Jacksonville,  they  must  bestir  themselves  and  act 
boldly  and  promptly. 

Your  Committee  beg  leave  to  add  a  few  suggestions  to  the 
Board,  and  through  you  to  the  people  of  the  County,  suggestions 
drawn  from  conversation  which  we  had  with  gentlemen  from 
different  portions  of  the  State,  in  attendance  at  the  Convention. 
The  efforts  made  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Legislature  by  the 
people  of  this  county  will  not  be  lost.     In  every  part  of  the  State 


484  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  "Champaign  Elephant"  is  now  kno^ai  and  recognized  as  a 
power  and  one  whose  claims  cannot  be  set  aside  by  any  trifling 
effort.  In  all  parts  of  the  State,  they  now  know  what  we  have  to 
offer  and  that  it  is  in  the  most  tangible  shape  and  sooner  brought 
into  actual  use  and  occupation  than  any  proposition  yet  made 
from  any  portion  of  the  State.  Many  who  were  in  attendance 
have  no  expectation  of  the  location  of  the  institution  in  their  own 
locality  and  readily  concede  the  propriety  and  justice  of  locat- 
ing it  in  Eastern  Illinois  and  will  give  their  aid  to  that  end. 
Others  who  hope  to  secure  the  location  did  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  if  they  failed  that  this  county  would  be  their  next  choice. 
From  these  facts  and  numerous  others  we  might  name,  we  cannot 
but  urge  the  Board  and  the  people  of  the  County  to  vigilant  and 
detemiined  action.  If  it  need  be  that  money  be  expended  to 
attain  this  end,  let  it  be  appropriated,  not  grudgingly  and  in  a 
stinted  manner,  but  freely  and  promptly.  Nor  is  this  all,  every 
citizen  of  the  County  should  consider  himself  a  committee  of  one 
to  urge  at  home  and  abroad,  this  matter.  Many  other  points 
throughout  the  State  will  strongly  compete  for  the  location  by 
offers  of  money,  land  and  buildings,  nor  will  they  scruple  as  to 
the  way  in  which  they  may  attain  this  end.  Champaign  County 
is  rapidly  taking  a  position  as  one  of  the  foremost  agricultural 
Counties  in  the  State;  her  soil  and  geographical  position  emi- 
nently points  her  out  as  the  proper  location  of  the  great  Agricul- 
tural School,  from  whose  portals  shall  go  forth  the  sons  of  toil, 
learned,  elevated  and  better  prepared  to  subdue  and  cutivate  the 
broad  and  fertile  prairies  of  our  great  State. 

And  having  reported,  your  committee  pray  to  be  discharged. 

W.  H.  PEARCE, 

C.  R.  GRIGGS, 

J.  C.  SHELDON, 

Committee. 

From  the   Central   Illinois   Gazette, 
Urbana,  111.,  Friday,  March  2,  1866. 


Arguments  of  Three  Counties  485 


DOCUMENT  NO.  18 

statements  by  Champaign  County   committee   and  reply   by   McLean 
County  committee,  reasons  for  locating  university  in  Logan  County. 

Printed  Circular,  Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 


THE  CHAMPAIGN  OFFER 

Compared  with  Bloomington,  as  set  forth  in  the  Report 
OF  THE  Joint  Committee. 

Assessed  value  of  the  Bloomington  lands,  as  stated  by  the 
committee,  $18  per  acre ;  431/^  acres,  valued  by  the  committee  at 
$15,000,  equal  in  round  numbers  to  $347  per  acre. 

Assessed  value  of  160  acres  of  land  at  Champaign  as  stated 
by  the  committee,  $20  per  acre.  This  a  tenth  in  favor  of  Cham- 
paign equal  to  $381.70  per  acre,  making  $61,000. 

The  committee  report  for  Bloomington  100  acres  belonging 
to  the  State,  not  taxable,  at  $20,000  or  $200  per  acre. 

In  the  report  of  this  committee,  810  acres  of  the  Champaign 
land  are  put  down  as  assessed  at  $15  per  acre.  One-sixth  less, 
omitting  fractions,  would  make  the  Champaign  land  worth  $290 
per  acre,  making  $234,900.  The  ten  acres  which  the  building 
stands  on  is  reported  by  the  committee  at  $2,500 — worth,  in  the 
estimation  of  some  members  of  the  committee,  $500  per  acre. 

The  building  is  reported  at  a  cost  of $120,000 

County  bonds 100,000 

Railroad  freight 35,000 

Fruit  and  shade  trees 2,000 

Which  makes  the  aggregate  bid  of  Champaign  as  follows: 

160  acres 61,000 

810  acres 234,900 

Ground  on  which  building  stands,  10  acres 2,500 

County  bonds 100,000 

Freight 35,000 

Trees 2,000 

Reported  cost  of  building 120,000 


486  History  University  of  Illinois 

Champaign  bid  on  basis  of  calculation  adopted  by 

committee 555,400 

Bloomington  bid,  as  reported  by  committee 470,000 

Excess  of  Champaign  bid  over  Bloomington $  85,400 

This  land  offer  from  Champaign  county  is  veiy  valuable; 
more  valuable,  in  the  event  the  University  is  located  there,  than 
all  the  bonds  offered  by  McLean  county. 

The  scarcity  of  water,  in  and  about  Bloomington,  renders  it 
wholly  impracticable  as  the  site  of  the  Industrial  University. 
Wherever  this  institution  is  located,  there  ultimately  should  be 
the  place  of  holding  the  State  fair,  which  will  require  a  large 
supply  of  water.  There  is  no  living  water  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bloomington.  Both  this  city  and  Normal  are  frequently  in  a 
very  destitute  condition;  the  only  means  of  supply  being  from 
cisterns,  while  Champaign  is  abundantly  supplied  with  streams 
and  fountains  of  never  failing  water. 

The  day  that  the  committe  made  their  visit  to  Champaign, 
was  one  of  the  coldest  and  most  disagreeable  of  the  season,  which 
prevented  a  full  and  satisfactory  examination  of  the  lands  offered 
to  the  State,  and  the  committee  was  unable  to  procure  all  the  facts 
necessary  to  a  proper  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  said  land. 

W.  D.  SOMEKS, 
T.  A.  COSGROVE, 
C.  R.  MOREHOUSE, 

Committee  of  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Champaign  county. 

INDUSTRIAL  UNIVERSITY 

To  tlie  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  now  in  session: 
Our  notice  having  been  called  to  a  paper  purporting  to  be 
put  forth  by  W.  D.  Somers,  T.  A.  Cosgrove  and  C.  R.  ]\Iorehouse, 
acting  as  a  committee  in  behalf  of  Champaign  Co.,  we  desire  re- 
spectfully to  ask  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  statements 
therein  made  in  regard  to  the  comparative  value  of  property 
offered  by  McLean  and  Champaign  Counties  respectively,  is  pre- 
dicated not  upon  actual  sales  or  values,  but  on  town  or  county 
assessments.  The  joint  committee  of  the  two  houses  very  pro- 
perly based  their  estimates  of  value  on  actual  cash  sales,  and  so 


Arguments  of  Three  Counties  487 

far  as  McLean  county  lands  are  concerned,  this  estimate  will 
stand  the  closest  scrutiny.  This  effort  to  destroy  the  force  of 
the  committee's  report  by  a  process  of  reasoning  so  notoriously 
unreliable,  demands  at  our  hands  no  further  notice. 

What  we  most  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  is  an  important 
fact  thus  briefly  alluded  to  in  the  Report  of  the  joint  committee. 
It  is  therein  stated  "McLean  county  offers  in  lieu  of  said  lands 
other  lands  at  the  option  of  the  State  equally  valuable."  These 
"other  lands  are  offered  not  merely  in  lieu"  but  in  addition 
to  the  tracts  therein  specified,  if  desired;  and  consists  of  four 
separate  tracts  or  parcels  of  real  estate,  lying  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  proposed  site  of  the  University,  containing  in  all  about  1800 
acres,  and  embracing  some  of  the  best  improved  farms  in  McLean 
county.  These  tracts  are  offered  at  low  rates,  ranging  from  $30 
to  $65  per  acre,  and  ^vritten  agreements  are  entered  into  and 
now  held  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  i\Ir.  Enoch,  by  which 
the  ow^lers  of  these  tracts  agree  to  convey  the  same  within  a  rea- 
sonable time  to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  if  so  desired  at  the  prices 
now  agreed  upon.  They  further  agree  to  take  in  payment  for 
said  lands  any  of  the  bonds  oft'ered  to  the  State  by  the  people  of 
said  county.  Hence  it  will  be  seen,  that  if  it  is  the  desire  of  the 
Trustees  to  exchange  some  of  the  bonds  offered  for  lands,  and 
thus  make  a  real  estate  speculation,  as  is  proposed  at  Champaign, 
ample  opportunity  is  here  presented  for  so  doing,  even  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  on  more  advantageous  terms  than  at  the  last 
mentioned  place.  AVhether  the  Board  of  Trustees,  however,  will 
be  so  inclined  is  quite  another  question. 

The  statement  about  the  "scarcity  of  water,"  and  that  at 
Bloomington  and  Normal  ' '  the  only  means  of  supply  is  from  cis- 
terns,"  is  so  absolutely  and  transparently  false,  as  scarcely  to 
need  notice,  were  it  not  that  by  silence  some  might  thereby  be 
misled.  How  any  set  of  men  having  any  regard  for  truth,  or 
self  respect,  could  deliberately  put  forth  a  statement  so  notori- 
ously false,  so  utterly  destitute  of  facts,  passes  our  comprehen- 
sion. So  far  from  this  being  true  it  is  a  matter  of  history,  es- 
tablished by  a  court  of  justice  in  a  case  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  that  the  only  unfailing  supply  of  water  on  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  for  twcntv  miles  north  and  south  of  Normal 


488  History  University  of  Illinois 

(the  proposed  location)  is  at  that  identical  point.  So  far  from 
cisterns  being  "the  only  means  of  supply"  we  hereby,  and  thus 
publicly  assert,  that  a  large  majority  of  our  wells  furnish  an 
unfailing  supply  of  water ;  that  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  the  fam- 
ilies in  Bloomington  and  Normal,  use  cistern  water  at  all,  except 
for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  washing. 

On  one  of  the  tracts  offered  for  a  site  there  is  an  unfailing 
supply  of  running  water — Sugar  Creek,  which  many  years  exper- 
ience has  proven  fully  adequate  to  supply  water,  not  only  for 
quite  extensive  manufacturing  purposes,  but  for  numerously 
attended  county  fairs. 

In  conclusion  we  would  reiterate  very  briefly  our  bid,  and 
also  that  of  Champaign,  as  estimated  by  the  joint  committee : 

Estimated  cash  value  of  the  bonds $400,000 

Estimated  cash  value  of  freight  on  St.  L.  A.  &  C.  U.  R.  35,000 
Estimated  cash  value  of  100  acres  for  model  farm 20,000 

(This  is  the  exact  price  paid  for  this  valuable  tract 

to  the  Board  of  Education) 
Estimated  cash  value  431/2  acres  for  site 15,000 


Total 470,000 

Total  estimated  value  of  Champaign  County  bid 285,000 


Difference  in  favor  of  McLean  County $185,000 

J.  W.  FELL 

A.  GRIDLEY 

H.  NOBLE 

N.  DIXON 

WM.  J.  RUTLEDGE 

W.  H.  CHENEY 

P.  WHITMER 

L.  A.  HOVEY 

A.  J.  MERRIMAN 

F.  PRICE 


Arguments  of  Tliree  Counties  489 

A  FEW  REASONS  FOR  THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  INDUS- 
TRIAL UNIVERSITY  AT  LINCOLN 

The  citizens  of  Logan  county,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
general  act  passed  at  the  present  session  of  the  Legislature,  have 
voted  a  subscription  of  $300,000  to  secure  the  location  of  the 
Industrial  University  in  their  midst.  The  County  Court  of 
said  County,  in  furtherance  of  this  movement  have  caused  to  be 
entered  of  Record  an  order  for  the  issuance  of  the  Bonds  of  the 
County  in  the  said  sum  of  $300,000 — payable  to  the  State  of 
Illinois  for  the  use  of  the  University  in  ten  years,  with  annual 
coupons  bearing  10  per  cent  interest,  provided  the  University 
shall  be  located  in  said  county. 

The  citizens  of  Lincoln,  at  an  independent  election  held  un- 
der the  provisions  of  the  same  act,  have  voted  an  additional  sum 
of  $50,000  to  secure  the  location  of  said  University  at  or  near 
Lincoln,  and  in  pursuance  of  said  election  the  City  Council  of 
Lincoln  have  caused  to  be  entered  of  Record  an  order  for  the 
issuance  of  the  bonds  of  the  City  of  Lincoln  in  the  sum  of 
$50,000  payable  to  the  State  of  Illinois  for  the  use  of  said  Uni- 
versity, one-half  in  five  years,  and  one-half  in  ten  years,  with 
ten  per  cent  annual  interest,  upon  the  condition  that  said  Uni- 
versity shall  be  located  at  or  near  the  City  of  Lincoln.  These 
elections  were  held,  (as  is  believed)  in  strict  conformity  with  the 
law,  and  the  evidences  of  the  respective  action  of  said  City  and 
County  authorities  in  the  premises  in  the  nature  of  authenticated 
copies  of  their  Public  Records  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of 
your  Special  Committee  who  were  charged  with  the  investigation 
of  our  offer. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the  President  and  Directors 
of  the  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  Rail  Road,  with  great  liberality  have 
proposed  in  uniting  to  donate  in  freights  to  the  State,  an  amount 
equal  to  $50,000,  should  said  University  be  located  at  Lincoln, 
which  proposal  is  also  in  the  hands  of  the  same  Committee. 

CASH  VALUE  OF  THE  BID 

As  an  evidence  that  these  bonds  will  be  equivalent  to  cash, 
we  rely  upon  the  following  facts:     Logan  County  is  entirely 


490  Ilisiory  University  of  Illinois 

out  of  debt.  It  has  an  area  of  395,000  acres  of  land.  The  as- 
sessed valuation  of  its  real  estate  is  about  $4,000,000 — its  real 
value  being  about  three  times  that  sum.  The  assessed  value  of 
its  personal  i)roperty  for  1865  was  about  $1,800,000,  making  a 
total  of  about  $6,000,000.  The  tax  levied  for  county  purposes 
for  1865  was  only  33  cents  per  $100;  and  the  whole  State  and 
general  school  tax  was  only  72  cents  per  $100,  making  a  total 
taxation  only  of  about  one  per  cent,  for  all  State  and  County 
purposes.  In  order  to  pay  the  annual  interest  on  the  bonds  pro- 
posed to  be  issued  by  the  county,  it  will  require  only  an  addi- 
tional tax  of  five  mills  on  the  dollar  upon  the  property  valuation 
of  1865.  There  are  few  counties  in  the  State  which  embrace 
so  little  land  unfit  for  cultivation,  or  a  body  of  land  as  a  whole 
susceptible  of  more  efficient  and  productive  cultivation ;  few  that 
have  increased  so  rapidly  in  population  and  material  wealth,  or 
in  which  the  rate  of  taxation  is  so  small. 

The  City  of  Lincoln,  the  County  Seat  of  Logan  county,  is 
situated  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago,  Alton  and  St.  Louis  Railroad, 
about  equal  distance  between  Springfield  and  Bloomington.  Laid 
out  in  1853  and  1854,  it  has  attained  a  population  of  4,000  and 
has  risen  to  prominence  as  one  of  the  largest  contributors  to 
the  shipping  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  Railroad. 
The  City  is  entirely  out  of  debt,  and  the  tax  levied  for  ordinary, 
city  purposes  for  1866,  (aside  from  its  revenues  derived  from 
other  sources)  was  only  six  mills  on  the  dollar,  and  less  than 
1/2  per  cent  on  the  property  valuation  of  1866  will  be  sufficient  to 
defray  the  annual  interest  to  accrue  on  the  bonds  proposed  to  be 
issued.  The  city  is  located  in  the  centre  of  the  county;  is  sur- 
rounded by  lands  of  the  finest  quality,  and  adjacent  to  three  fine 
streams  of  water  and  overlying  beds  of  coal  which  it  is  believed 
can  be  successfully  and  profitably  worked.  As  the  best  evidence 
of  the  value  of  the  city  bonds,  the  citizens  of  Lincoln  have  offered 
to  the  State  the  choice  of  three  fine  farms,  one  of  350  acres  on 
the  north,  one  of  440  acres  on  the  south  of  the  city,  one  of  640 
acres  on  the  east  of  the  city,  all  of  which  lie  within  one  mile  of 
the  court  house,  and  for  which  the  owners  have  agreed  to  take  in 
payment  said  bonds  of  the  city,  at  a  price  in  neither  case  greater 
than  the  sum  subscribed  by  the  city,  and  have  filed  their  agree- 
ments to  this  effect  in  writing,  with  your  committee.    These  farms 


Arguments  of  Three  Counties  491 

lie  immediately  adjoining  the  city  and  portions  of  two  of  them 
embraced  in  the  city  limits.  They  possess  every  requisite  for  mo- 
del farms,  are  supplied  with  never-failing  water,  and  possess 
beautiful  and  commanding  sites  for  the  erection  of  buildings. 
The  citizens  of  Logan  county  point  with  pride  to  their  offer  for 
the  University,  as  being  larger  in  proportion  to  the  size  and 
population  of  the  county  than  any  that  has  yet  been  made. 

LOCATION 

Lincoln  is  nearer  the  geographical  centre  of  the  State  than 
any  of  the  other  locations  that  have  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  University.  It  is  situated  on  the  direct  line  of  road  from 
Chicago  to  St.  Louis,  and  is  easily  accessible  to  all  parts  of  the 
State.  A  charter  has  been  obtained  at  the  present  session  of 
this  Legislature  for  the  construction  of  a  Railroad  from  Decatur 
on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  through  Lincoln  to  Pekin,  a  dis- 
tance of  only  70  miles.  It  is  believed  that  this  road  will  be  con- 
structed by  the  time  the  University  shall  be  built  and  in  actual 
operation. 

OUR  OFFER. 

In  brief  we  propose  to  give  the  State  for  the  use  of  the 
University,  a  most  eligible  and  desirable  farm  on  which  to  locate 
the  Institution.  We  propose  further  to  give  the  State  enough 
money  to  erect  a  building,  better  and  more  costly  than  the 
present  Capital  of  the  State,  or  the  Normal  University ;  and  when 
all  this  is  done,  there  will  be  the  magnificent  surplus  of  $100,000 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  State,  to  be  expended  in  the  supply  of 
apparatus,  machinery,  and  appliances  of  every  sort  necessary  for 
the  successful  operation  of  the  University.  The  State  cannot  ask 
more.  Believing  that  no  other  location  has  submitted  a  more 
generous  or  liberal  proposition  or  one  more  advantageous  to  the 
State,  the  citizens  of  Logan  County  ask  for  their  proposition  the 
candid  and  just  consideration  of  the  Legislature. 


492  History  University  of  Illinois 

DOCUMENT  NUMBER  19 

Jacksonville  Journal,  March  16  and  18,  1867 

REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE    ON   LOCATION   OF   INDUS- 
TRIAL UNIVERSITY 

The  undersigned,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  appointed 
by  the  farmers  and  mechanics  at  the  state  fair  in  Decatur  and 
reappointed  at  the  State  Convention,  called  at  Bloomington  in 
December,  1865,  to  secure  the  passage  of  a  charter  for  the  State 
Industrial  University  according  to  the  instruction  of  said  con- 
vention, would  report  upon  their  action  and  the  causes  of  their 
failure  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  charter  proposed. 

The  friends  of  education,  as  well  as  the  people  of  Illinois 
generally,  had  a  right  to  expect  and  to  demand  that  the  founda- 
tion of  an  institution,  originating  from  their  munificent  grant  of 
public  lands,  and  designed  to  become  the  heritage  and  blessing  of 
posterity  to  remotest  generations,  should  be  laid  in  simple  and 
solemn  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose,  uninfluenced  by  either 
local  or  political  combinations  and  corruptions. 

To  secure  this  result,  before  the  opening  of  the  session  of 
1865,  the  members  of  the  committee  assembled  at  the  agricultural 
society  rooms  at  Springfield,  together  with  such  officers  of  that 
society  as  were  then  present,  unanimously  agreed  upon  the  out- 
lines of  a  charter  for  the  organization  and  endowment  of  the 
institution,  embracing  among  other  provisions,  the  following  car- 
dinal principles : 

I.  That  the  funds  should  be  kept  entire,  and  only  one  in- 
stitution founded  in  the  best  locality  the  state  could  proffer, 
wherever  that  might  prove  to  be. 

II.  That  free  competition  should  be  offered  to  all  the  coun- 
ties in  the  state,  and  the  best  proposals  honestly  accepted  by  a 
commission  appointed  by  the  legislature  or  otherwise  for  the 
purpose. 

These  propositions  were  so  self -evidently  just  and  fair,  that 
they  have  everywhere  received  the  unanimous  approval  and  en- 
dorsement of  all  the  industrial  and  educational  societies  and 


Report  of  a  Committee  on  Location  of  the  TJniversity    493 

conventions  which  have  been  called  to  deliberate  on  the  subject. 
Nine  tenths  of  the  people  of  Illinois  are  today  a  unit  on  the  above 
propositions.  The  charter  proposed  was  read  by  Gen.  Fuller 
at  the  opening  of  the  present  session  of  the  legislature  to  the 
board  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society  and  received  their  unani- 
mous public  endorsement  and  approval.  But  these  just  and 
most  needful  ends  were  at  last  defeated.  "We  deem  it  indispensa- 
ble that  the  societies  and  conventions  appointing  this  committee, 
and  that  the  people  and  taxpayers  of  the  state  should  know  truly 
how  this  was  done,  and  why  it  was  done.  At  the  Agricultural 
rooms  above  mentioned,  Dr.  Scroggs  of  Champaign,  for  the  first 
time  appeared  in  our  meetings,  and  spoke  of  a  magnificent  build- 
ing which  their  people  proposed  to  offer  to  the  society.  We  were 
glad  to  hear  it  and  freely  admitted  him  to  our  counsels  and  plans. 
He  was  understood  by  all  to  assent  heartily  to  the  cardinal  prin- 
ciples laid  down  as  above  stated ;  certainly  he  did  not  object  to 
them. 

Judge  then  our  surprise  when  a  short  time  after  our  meeting 
the  ''Champaign  ring,"  as  it  was  called,  appeared  at  the  capital 
in  force  of  some  twenty  or  more  confederates  and  lobby  members, 
backed  as  it  was  said,  with  five  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  led  by 
Dr.  Scroggs  and  a  wandering  preacher  by  the  name  of  Stoughton, 
and  demanding  the  immediate  location  of  the  University  at  Cham- 
paign, in  consideration  of  the  unfinished  buildings  and  grounds 
offered  to  the  state,  which  they  said  were  worth  $120,000.  They 
insisted  that  it  should  be  done,  before  any  enabling  act  should  be 
passed,  or  any  other  counties  invested  wdth  any  legal  rights 
or  power  of  competition. 

They  still  professed  to  wish  to  keep  the  funds  undivided 
according  to  the  previous  agreement,  and  oftentimes  renewed 
their  pledges  to  that  effect. 

But  before  the  session  closed  they  virtually  violated  this 
pledge  also,  by  admitting  into  their  bill  an  agreement  to  locate 
one  branch  of  the  University  at  Chicago,  and  another  in  Eg;^'pt, 
so  as  to  secure  the  votes  of  these  sections.  Still,  true  to  their 
native  instinct,  however,  they  took  care  so  to  w^ord  the  bill  that 
they  could  cheat  their  Chicago  and  Egyptian  allies  out  of  the 
consideration,  after  they  had  secured  their  votes;  as  the  bill 


494  Hhiorij  Univcrsify  of  Illinois 

itself  clearly  shows.  This  was  the  first  interest  that  any  one 
of  this  ring  ever  manifested  in  this  great  cause  of  industrial  edu- 
cation. Thus  was  the  scheme  inaugurated  in  perfidy,  which  was 
destined,  at  last,  to  end  in  a  degree  of  corruption,  hypocrisy, 
drunkenness  and  debauchery  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  Illi- 
nois legislation. 

It  subsequently  appeared  that  this  speculating  ring,  in  or- 
der to  sell  the  prairie  lands  lying  between  the  two  towns  of 
Champaign  and  Urbana,  had  laid  them  off  in  town  lots  and  begun 
to  erect  their  so  called  seminary  building,  to  aid  in  the  sale  of 
lots.  But  from  sheer  incapacitj^  the  whole  thing  fell  through 
and  left  them  Avith  building,  lots,  and  all,  still  on  hand,  and  mort- 
gaged or  under  lien  at  that,  for  debts  they  could  not  pay. 

And  as  often  happens  to  men  who  utterly  fail  in  capacity 
to  manage  their  own  business,  they  at  once  most  eagerly  sought 
to  take  charge  of  the  public  weal. 

Hence  their  distressing  interest  in  behalf  of  University  Edu- 
cation; at  the  last  session  they  constantly  alleged  that  their 
famous  building  Avas  in  such  brisk  demand  that  they  could  not 
possibly  hold  it  any  longer  than  till  mid-summer  of  that  year, 
and  if  not  accepted  at  once,  the  legislature  would  forever  lose 
the  splendid  offer.  They  took  care,  however,  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  all  enabling  acts  in  behalf  of  other  counties  so  as  to  pre- 
clude all  competition  from  localities  which  did  not  happen  to 
have  an  ' '  elephant ' '  all  ready  to  offer  on  hand.  It  is  needless  to 
remark  that  both  their  mortgaged  buildings  and  grounds  have 
most  remarkably  withstood  the  siege  of  purchasers  until  the  year 
of  grace  1867.  Their  lots  are  still  there,  except  those  that  have 
passed  into  the  hands  or  pockets  of  their  allies  at  the  capital  and 
elsewhere. 

They  still  take  wonderful  care  to  reserve  the  town  lots  im- 
mediately around  the  buildings  and  grounds,  wholly  in  their  own 
hands,  an  to  endow  the  University  with  naked  prairie  lands, 
some  two  miles  out  in  the  country. 

After  the  last  session  of  1865  it  became  apparent  that  this 
Champaign  ring,  by  their  natural  location,  and  other  means  ap- 
plied, could  control  nearly  one-third  of  the  vote  of  the  state  in 
their  interest.    An  effort  was  made  to  secure  the  direct  endorse- 


Report  of  a  Committee  on  Location  of  tlie  University    495 

ment  of  the  State  Horticultural  Society  of  their  plans  during  its 
session  in  Champaign  in  December.  The  effort  failed ;  that  society 
could  not  be  made  to  stultify  itself  by  retracting  its  committal  to 
a  free  and  fair  competition  among  all  the  counties,  Champaign 
included,  for  the  location  of  the  institution.  The  chairman  of 
your  committee  became  for  the  first  time  aware  of  the  outline 
of  the  plot  that  has  since  been  consummated.  He  was  told  at  the 
time,  by  a  member  of  the  ring,  that  the  whole  plot  was  planned 
and  irrevocably  fixed,  that  it  would  be  utterly  in  vain  for  him 
or  for  any  of  the  members  of  the  state  committee  to  attempt  to 
resist  it.  Their  "arrangements  were  all  made,"  as  they  said, 
"and  the  thing  would  certainly  be  put  through."  He  was  ex- 
plicitly told  that  if  he  would  turn  in  and  co-operate  with  them, 
he  might  have  the  charter  written  just  as  he  pleased,  and  they 
would  elect  him  Regent  of  the  University,  which  he  said,  they 
all  desired,  and  we  would  all  take  hold  and  v.-ork  in  harmony  and 
build  up  a  splendid  University. 

On  his  replying  that  he  had  been  a  teacher  for  thirty  years 
of  his  life,  and  had,  years  ago,  left  the  employment  with  the  de- 
termination never  to  return  to  it  again ;  and  that  at  any  rate,  he 
thought  that  such  an  act  of  perfidy  to  his  own  convictions,  and 
to  the  various  societies  and  conventions,  in  whose  behalf  and 
under  whose  explicit  instructions  he  was  professing  to  act,  would 
ill  fit  him  for  such  a  responsible  position.  Their  speaker  then  be- 
gan to  use  threats,  and  distinctly  declared  that  if  such  obstinacy 
was  persisted  in  by  the  committee  they  should  be  compelled  in 
the  last  resort,  to  do  as  they  did  at  the  last  session,  and  go  in  with 
Chicago  and  Egypt  for  a  similar  division  of  the  fund,  and  then 
they  would  be  sure  of  success ;  and  the  responsibility  of  injuring 
the  institution  would  rest  on  those  of  the  state  committee  who 
should  thus  insist  on  the  full  rights  of  other  counties.  At  the 
opening  of  the  session  of  the  legislature,  their  senator  told  the 
chainnan,  as  a  friend,  substantially  the  same  things  and  advised 
him  not  to  resist  them — for  the  same  reasons,  as  it  would  only 
result  in  injury,  or  at  least  trouble,  to  himself,  with  no  possible 
good  to  the  state ;  as  their  ring  was  too  strong  to  be  broken. 

This  new  ring  in  the  legislature  now  referred  to  was  under- 
stood— before  the  legislature  commenced — to  embrace  the  fol- 


496  History  University  of  Illinois 

lowing  items,  in  ])artienlai-,  and  whatever  else  could  be  brought 
into  it.  Companies  of  capitalists  and  speculators  were  formed 
at  the  capital,  and  over  the  state,  to  play  into  each  others  hands, 
a  part  were  to  manage  ostensibly  the  state  capital  interests  of 
some  three  to  five  millions ;  a  part  the  southern  penitentiary  and 
a  part  to  lease  the  state  prison  for  ten  years,  so  that  the  prisoners 
might  be  compelled  to  hew  the  stone  for  these  edifices,  and  also 
for  a  branch  of  the  Insane  asylum  to  be  located  in  the  vicinity  of 
Peoria,  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  while  the  sharpers  pocketed 
the  funds  from  the  taxes  paid  by  the  people  on  the  contracts.  The 
canal  and  river  scheme  from  Chicago  across  the  state  toward  the 
west,  investing  some  ten  or  twelve  millions  more  before  it  is  com- 
pleted, was  embraced  in  the  plot.  It  was  understood  that  if  Cham- 
paign would  throw  her  vote  for  all  these  schemes,  whether  other 
counties  offered  more  or  less  for  the  location  of  the  University, 
the  institution  was  at  all  hazards  to  be  located  at  Champaign. 

Thus  this  "Champaign  ring"  stood  ready  pledged  to  saddle 
the  taxpaj'Crs  of  the  state  with  some  fifteen  or  twenty  millions 
of  dollars  of  prospective  debts  and  obligations,  provided  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  people  Avould  at  all  hazards  locate  the  Uni- 
versity at  Champaign,  and  relieve  them  of  their  embarrassments 
on  their  mortgaged  buildings  and  lands.  Although  your  com- 
mittee were  fully  aware  of  this  scheme  before  the  session  com- 
menced, and  made  all  the  resistance  to  it  in  their  power,  it  was  in 
the  end  carried  out ;  only  enough  members  in  the  ring  voting  er- 
ratically or  occasionally  voting  against  the  measure,  only  to  re- 
new it  again,  to  disguise  their  acts,  from  the  scrutiny  of  the  peo- 
ple. At  the  opening  of  the  session  the  "Champaign  ring, "  as  us- 
ual, were  on  hand  with  open  rooms  and  wine  and  liquors  free  to 
friends,  and  another  five  thousand  dollars  of  "pin  money,"  be- 
t'ides  the  one  hundred  thousand  in  reserve,  voted  by  their  county, 
which  was  at  first  wholly  withheld  from  their  offer  to  the  state. 
The  correspondents  of  the  public  press  and  in  some  instances  the 
editors  themselves,  were  notoriously  and  shamelessly  bought  up, 
and  suborned  to  the  uses  of  this  ring  and  their  columns  closed 
against  an  effectual  warning  or  remonstrance  in  behalf  of  the 
people. 

Before  the  legislature  convened  threats  Avere  openly  made 
by  the  ring,  against  the  state  institutions  both  at  Bloomington 


Report  of  a  Committee  on  Location  of  tJie  University    497 

and  Jacksonville  to  deter  the  people  of  Morgan  and  McLean 
from  entering  into  any  competition  or  effort  against  them,  and 
the  warfare  was  kept  up  against  these  institutions,  more  or  less, 
brisk  until  the  fate  of  the  University  was  decided. 

Thus  if  this  ring  could  not  be  allowed  to  steal  with  impunity 
from  the  resources  of  the  state,  the  deaf  and  dumb  and  blind  and 
insane  and  all  the  public  teachers  and  pupils  of  the  state  at 
Bloomington,  and  Jacksonville  were  to  be  turned  into  the  street. 

To  such  a  pass  were  things  carried  that  the  honest  people  of 
Champaign  county  itself,  felt  at  last  compelled  to  remonstrate 
against  the  conduct  of  this  ring  of  unprincipled  knaves  and 
sharpers.  Remonstrances  to  the  legislature  were  gotten  up  in 
seven  of  the  different  townships  of  Champaign  county,  signed  in 
some  instances  by  every  tax  payer  in  the  township,  praying  the 
legislature  not  to  legalize  the  taxes  about  to  be  imposed  upon  them 
by  this  ring,  on  the  ground  of  the  illegality  of  the  pretended 
election.  The  pressure  of  their  existing  taxes,  and  above  all  from 
their  conviction  that  the  $5,000  of  public  funds  wliich  had  been 
put  into  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  which  Dr.  Scroggs,  M.  L. 
Dunlap  and  Priest  Stoughton  and  Mr.  Rep.  Griggs  of  Champaign 
were  active  members,  had  been  used  during  the  session  for  corrupt 
purposes ;  as  the  committee  of  1865  had  refused  to  account  for 
their  use  of  the  money,  or  to  refund  any  part  of  it  as  required 
to  do  by  order  of  the  court  committing  it  into  their  hands  and 
also  because  they  believed  that  the  five  thousand  dollars  furnished 
for  the  session  of  1867  had  been  ''squandered  corruptly"  for 
the  same  ends.  They  furnished  extracts  from  their  county  re- 
cords, taken  under  oath,  to  show  that  the  charges  were  true, 
also  extracts  from  the  records  of  Champaign  and  Urbana  town- 
ships, showing  that  five  hundred  dollars  respectively  had  been 
voted  by  them,  in  addition  to  a  like  sum  from  private  subscrip- 
tions for  a  similar  purpose,  making  in  all  twelve  thousand  dollars 
which  as  it  seems  from  their  supervisors'  report  was  expended 
to  "incalculable  advantage"  upon  somebody  at  Springfield,  over 
and  above  the  $100,000  voted  by  the  county  which  was  indeed 
after  much  prompting  offered  on  paper  to  the  state,  but  which  has 
not  yet  been  paid  over  and  probably  never  will  be  until  the  people 
of  Champaign  submit  to  a  new  bleeding  by  way  of  taxation  or 


498  Ifisforif  Vnivcrsihi  of  Illinois 

voluntary  contribution.  Who  got  this  $12,000  or  more  money, 
used  at  Sprinj?fiekl  to  such  an  "incak'uhiblc  advantage"?  Some 
of  those  who  voted  for  ('hami)aign  seemed  nervously  anxious  to 
affirm  that  they  had  never  seen  a  dollar  of  it ;  while  othei*s  could 
not  be  made  to  believe  that  any  such  fund  or  any  such  I'ing  had 
ever  existed,  as  Ave  have  described,  it  Avas  undoubtedly  all  ex- 
pended on  the  opposition  to  keep  them  from  voting  for  this 
"Champaign  elephant"  as  it  was  appropriately  called,  en  masse. 

These  petitioners  alleged  that  they  were  prevented  from  get- 
ting their  remonstrances  before  the  legislature  only  by  the  fraud 
and  deception  of  the  ring  at  Springfield. 

Meantime  in  despite  the  opposition  of  the  ring  an  enabling 
act  was  at  last  forced  through  the  legislature,  and  the  legal  com- 
petition of  other  counties  admitted.  The  action  of  the  counties 
of  McLean,  Logan  and  Morgan  under  these  enal)ling  acts  were  se- 
cured at  great  trouble  and  expense  by  the  citizens ;  and  not  with- 
standing the  time  fixed  for  their  action  by  the  ring  was  so  short 
that  it  was  thought  impossible  for  the  counties  to  comply  with  its 
terms,  (and  therefore  many  of  the  ring  voted  for  the  act  and  fully 
and  openly  committed  both  themselves  and  their  suborned  presses, 
to  the  principle  that  the  county  wdiieh  made  the  best  offer  should 
have  the  location),  still  even  their  oavtl  joint  committee  being 
judge,  it  turned  out  at  last  quite  unexpectedly  to  the  ring  and 
their  allies  that  each  one  of  these  counties,  made  far  better  offers, 
than  Champaign  in  cash  value,  over  and  above  their  superiority 
in  location  and  in  all  other  respects.  Here  was  a  new  and  unex- 
pected dilemma.  Something  must  now  be  done.  Their  advocate  and 
champion  in  the  house,  S,  A.  Hurlburt,  a  South  Carolinian  by 
birth,  and  social  sympathy  and  philosophy  (to  say  nothing  worse 
of  him)  declared  to  his  friends  that  the  bid  of  Champaign  would 
be  Avritten  above  all  others,  let  the  joint  committee  appraise  them 
as  they  would.  He  declared  in  the  presence  of  ]\lr,  Baldwin 
and  others  that  this  whole  scheme  of  educating  the  farmer  was 
a  d d  humbug,  and  that  he  Avanted  to  get  it  off  doAvn  to  Cham- 
paign Avhere  it  Avould  die  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  in  accordance 
with  this  spirit  he  proposed  the  insane  amendments  attached  to 
the  bill  on  its  third  reading  in  the  house.  On  another  occasion 
he  declared  our  Avhole  system  of  public,  of  common  schools,  su- 


Report  of  a  Co7}imittec  on  Location  of  tlie  University    499 

perintendents  and  all  a  "  G d  d d  Humbug ' '.    Such  was 

the  spirit  which  animated  the  leading  champions  of  Champaign 
in  the  house ;  and  thus  they  fortified  themselves  and  their  allies 
against  the  report  of  their  own  committee,  already  expected  to 
be  adverse  to  their  schemes ;  in  due  time  the  report  was  made. 

They  reported  that  the  total  value  of  property  offered  by 
Champaign  County  in  cash  was  $285,000 ;  that  offered  by  Logan 
County  was  $385,000,  that  offered  by  McLean  county,  at  $470,000 
that  offered  by  Morgan  county  at  $491,000. 

Thus  the  cash  value  of  the  bid  of  Champaign  Avas  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  less  than  the  lowest  of  the  other  bids,  and 
more  than  $200,000  less  than  the  highest  bid,  according  to  the 
showing  of  a  joint  committee  of  the  house  and  senate,  appointed 
solely  to  make  and  report  a  just  estimate  of  the  value  of  the 
property  offered  by  each  locality. 

But  the  Champaign  ring  were  not  found  lacking  in  impu- 
dence, if  they  w^ere  in  cash,  they  immediately  went  behind  the 
report  of  the  com.mittee  and  published  a  new  report  of  their  own, 
placing  their  own  value  upon  their  own  property,  and  disparag- 
ing that  of  Bloomington,  and  still  affecting  that  theirs  was  the 
more  valuable  of  the  two.  In  their  offer  two  years  since  they 
themselves  appraised  their  building,  all  to  be  completed  as  it  now 
is,  with  its  ten  acres  of  grounds,  and  one  hundred  acres  of  the 
adjacent  lands,  at  only  $130,000,  and  everyone  knew  it  could  not 
be  sold  for  one-half  that  money.  They  afterwards  added  two 
blocks,  and  forty  acres  more,  and  appraised  the  value  at  $160,000, 
or  at  the  rate  of  about  $700  per  acre  or  $30,000  for  about  forty 
acres  additional  land. 

At  their  first  heat,  for  the  session  of  1867,  they  added  seven 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  more  of  prairie  land,  and  raised  their 
valuation  to  $300,000,  or  $170,000  for  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  mostly  two  miles  away  in  the  prairie,  known  to  be 
assessed  at  only  from  $12.00  to  $15  per  acre,  and  so  declared  in 
the  report  of  the  joint  committee.  Not  a  word  was  said  in  this 
offer  about  the  $100,000  published  as  having  been  voted  by  the 
honest  people  of  the  county  for  the  location  of  the  University. 
This  bid  already  publicly  proffered  to  the  state  at  a  value  of  three 
hundred  thousand  in  their  own  published  charter,  before  the 


500  History  University  of  Illinois 

house  and  senate  without  additional  dime  of  value  they  immedi- 
ately reappraised  at  the  value  of  $500,000  in  the  editorials  of 
the  Springfield  Journal,  wholly  under  their  control,  as  soon  as 
the  Bloomington  bid  was  made  amounting  to  that  value.  After 
the  joint  committee  had  reported  their  bid  as  valued  at  $285,000, 
they  published  and  circulated  a  counter  report  running  the  value 
up  to  $555,400  (and  estimated  their  land  two  miles  out  on  the 
prairie,  taxed  at  only  $15  per  acre  at  almost  $300  per  acre)  their 
advocate,  Hurlburt  in  the  house,  true  to  his  word,  to  "write 
Champaign  up  above  all  possible  competition"  offered  an  amend- 
ment to  their  charter  valuing  the  property  the  committee  had 
appraised  at  ($285,000)  at  the  modest  sum  of  $450,000,  or  ac- 
cording to  the  Champaign  ring.  Thus  without  some  explana- 
tion the  people  of  the  state  would  never  know  but  that  the  Cham- 
paign bid  was  actually  valued  at  the  sum  which  appears  in  the 
charter  of  the  University. 

When  at  Champaign  the  committee  were  informed  that  the 
abstracts  of  their  titles  were  all  correct  but  that  they  were  up  at 
Springfield,  and  believing  their  statement  the  committee  so  state 
in  their  report;  but  at  Springfield  the  clear  titles  were  never 
shoAvn,  and  indeed  as  is  well  known,  never  can  be,  until  the  liens 
and  mortgages  are  lifted  from  the  property. 

It  is  in  vain  to  say,  that  the  legislature  were  not  bound  by 
their  committee.  That  is  exactly  what  we  complain  of.  They 
were  neither  bound  by  their  committee  nor  by  any  other  law  or 
rule,  of  either  honesty,  or  even  decency. 

Now  if  a  judge  should  appoint  a  commission  to  examine  and 
appraise  the  property  of  rival  claimants,  which  he  never  saw,  and 
then  assume  the  right  to  affix  to  the  property  of  the  favorite 
party,  whatever  value  he  chose,  totally  regardless  of  the  report 
rendered,  all  men  would  unite  in  pronouncing  him  a  scoundrel ; 
or  if  an  auctioneer  of  public  property,  should  appoint  a  time  and 
condition  of  sale — and  then  strike  off  the  property  or  privilege 
to  the  lowest  instead  of  the  highest  bidder — the  conclusion  in 
all  minds  would  be  inevitable,  that  the  man  was  either  a  knave 
or  a  fool ;  and  yet,  with  shame  on  all  faces  be  it  said,  that  this 
is  exactly  in  principle  what  was  done  by  our  last  legislature 
of  Illinois  in  behalf  of  this  corrupt  Champaign  ring. 


Report  of  a  Committee  on  Location  of  tlie  University    501 

Those  who  voted  for  this  infamous  measure  may  affirm  as 
often  as  they  please  that  they  l^new  nothing  about  the  corruption 
money  distributed  by  this  ring.  The  people  can  never  be  made  to 
believe  one  word  of  it.  The  people  of  these  several  rival  counties 
can  never  forget  that  they  have  been  put  to  all  this  expense  and 
trouble  merely  to  be  cheated  by  the  knaves  and  fools  that  were  in 
and  around  the  last  legislature. 

Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  our  complaint  is  because  the  insti- 
tution did  not  come  to  Jacksonville.  The  undersigned  never  even 
asked  any  living  man,  either  in  or  out  of  the  legislature,  to  either 
vote  or  use  his  influence  in  behalf  of  Jacksonville,  except  the 
citizens  of  the  county  themselves ;  he  has  ever  steadfastly  refused 
to  accept  any  official  position  whatever,  either  on  the  proposed 
board  or  under  it.  A  just  regard  to  each  and  all  counties  alike, 
was  all  that  any  member  of  the  state  committee  ever  insisted  on 
at  the  capital ;  nothing  more  and  nothing  less ;  while  it  was  agreed 
among  them  all  that  each  should  encourage  and  aid  his  own  people 
to  make  the  very  best  bid  they  could  for  the  interest  of  the  insti- 
tution and  of  the  state. 

The  democratic  members  of  the  South  and  East,  could  truly 
allege,  that  their  decision  was  a  load  accommodation  to  their 
friends,  and  the  responsibility  of  the  infamy  would  rest  on  their 
political  opponents  who  alone  were  in  power.  But  the  Republi- 
cans of  the  North  and  West  had  not  even  this  poor  excuse  for 
the  evident  injustice  of  this  act. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  sorely 
distressed  and  perplexed  by  the  result  of  such  legislation.  But 
as  he  had  no  effective  veto  power  he  did  not  attempt  to  arrest 
its  progress. 

General  Fuller  and  others  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Baldwin  of 
LaSalle,  the  speaker,  Mr.  Corwin  and  others  of  the  house  did  all 
in  their  power  to  arrest  this  infamy  and  to  defend  the  rights  of 
the  people  and  taxpayers  of  the  state. 

By  these  results  your  state  is  most  deeply  disgraced  in  the 
eyes  of  our  sister  states — who  were  looking  to  us  for  a  worthy 
example  in  this  high  regard.  The  institution  has  lost  at  least 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  cash  funds,  freely  and  nobly 
proffered  to  its  acceptance  by  counties  who  had  higher  ends  in 


502  History  Universiij)  of  Illinois 

view  than  merely  to  speculate  in  town  lots,  and  lift  mortgages  off 
from  their  old  buildings  and  lands — but  this  loss  of  available 
funds  and  resources — heavy  as  it  is,  is  not  a  small  item  in  the 
category  of  our  disasters.  With  the  great  central  counties  of 
the  state  thus  outraged,  and  insulted  and  old  friends  of  the  cause 
all  over  the  state  utterly  disgusted,  while  the  North  and  West 
are  thrown  into  a  state  of  utter  indifference,  to  say  the  least,  no 
possible  amount  of  funds  can  ever  make  the  institution  a  success ; 
and  Champaign  county  will  at  last  find  herself  cheated  out  of  the 
taxes  she  has  paid  out  for  it  and  even  the  town  lots  of  these 
sharpers  will  still  rest  unsold  on  their  hands.  So  long  as  the 
institution  remains  under  either  the  social  or  political  control 
and  management  of  these  sharpers,  these  "Hon.  Dogberrys" 
and  "Dr.  Duncaids"  and  "Patroleum  Nasbys"  of  Champaign 
crossroads,  no  men  of  talent  and  genius  will  ever  gather  around 
it,  as  either  teachers  or  professors;  nothing  above  the  level  of 
the  miserable  scamps  and  scalawags,  whose  votes  and  services 
were  bought  up  at  the  capital  by  promises  of  office  or  lots  of 
cash — (some  of  them  it  was  said  for  twenty-five  dollars  a  head) 
most  of  whom  could  be  named  in  advance  of  their  formal  ap- 
pointment to  the  board.  Already  we  begin  to  see  these  vultures 
scenting  their  prey  from  afar,  and  seeking  some  eligible  position 
of  trust  and  plunder  either  in  or  around  the  board. 

For  two  long  years,  the  Champaigners  have  incessantly  re- 
sisted, the  appointment  of  a  commission  of  location  by  the  legis- 
lature, because  they  pretended  to  fear  that  a  commission  might  be 
influenced  or  biased  or  bribed ;  while  at  the  same  time  they  were 
])racticing  their  arts  as  above  described  on  the  legislators  them- 
selves; if  this  is  not  the  most  arrant  and  persistent  hypocrisy 
we  need  a  new  definition  of  that  word:  forever  prating  about 
the  morality  and  tomi)crancc  of  their  town,  they  have  themselves 
besieged  the  legislature,  and  all  the  committees  have  fallen  into 
their  hands,  with  fi-ce  liquors,  even  to  drunkenness.  Professing 
deference  to  the  judgment  of  the  legislature  committees,  they 
go  bind  their  own  committee,  and  impudently  affix  their  own 
absurd  prices,  to  their  property ;  and  clamouring  for  fairness, 
they  everywhere  practice  the  art  of  knaves  and  deceivers. 

As  all  know  full  well  these  selfish  and  detestable  intrigues 
and  plots  and  schemes,  have  been  the  sole  cause  of  all  this  delay 


Report  of  a  Committee  on  Location  of  tlie  University     503 

in  locating  the  institution  for  the  past  two  years  with  all  its  loss 
of  funds,  and  of  adding  millstones  of  additional  taxation  upon 
the  people  of  the  state,  involved  in  the  intrigues  during  the 
session,  thus  they  would  lay  the  very  foundations  of  this  state 
university,  in  the  identical  political  and  social  crimes  and  in- 
famies, it  was  primarily  designed  to  utterly  exterminate  from 
their  national  history  and  mind  and  heart.  To  this  hour  no 
solitary  man,  woman  or  child  in  the  state,  even  pretends  that 
the  charter  unanimously  approved  by  the  board  of  the  State 
Agricultural  Society  is  not  strictly  just  and  fair,  or  that  it  would 
not  have  become  a  law  two  years  ago,  had  it  not  been  for  this 
ring. 

We  might  as  well  attempt  to  build  another  St.  Peter's 
Church  in  the  vaults  of  a  stercorary  as  to  attempt  to  realize  the 
idea  of  a  University  worthy  of  the  great  state  of  Illinois,  amid 
surroundings  and  among  influences  such  as  these ;  all  the  money 
in  Christendom  could  not  achieve  it.  No  parent  from  abroad 
would  trust  his  son  there,  unless  he  washed  him  to  take  lessons 
in  the  arts  of  pei-fidy,  impudence,  hypocrisy  and  drunkenness. 

All  parties  that  have  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  will  find 
themselves  cheated  in  the  end.  It  will  dwindle  down  to  a  mere 
boys'  school  for  these  Champaign  villagers,  and  will  be  of  no  real 
use  to  them,  not  even  to  use  enough  to  enable  them  to  make  sale 
of  their  town  lots,  which  is  all  the  ring  ever  care  for  it ;  much  less 
will  it  ever  reimburse  the  county  for  the  hard  earned  money  this 
ring  has  fished  out  of  it.  The  other  funds  will  probably  be 
squandered  in  like  manner.  But  this  would  be  of  little  conse- 
quence perhaps,  were  it  not  that  by  disgracing  and  caricaturing 
the  whole  scheme,  it  will  throw  the  great  cause  of  industrial  Uni- 
versity Education  back  in  the  state  for  a  whole  generation — 
and  all  this  is  no  fault  of  the  place — Champaign,  as  a  place  is 
well  enough ;  until  these  disclosures  no  man  Avas  opposed  to 
Champaign  as  a  place,  but  after  what  has  happened,  the  place  can 
hardly  be  divested  of  its  associates  and  surroundings. 

The  only  apparent  remedy  now  is  for  the  people  of  the  state 
to  rally  once  more  and  elect  legislators  who  are  neither  knaves 
nor  fools,  and  at  the  next  session  remove  the  institution  to  Bloom- 
ington,  or  some  other  place  where  it  can  be  rescued  from  the 


504  History  Vniversitij  of  Illinois 

odium  and  contempt  that  will  forever  rest  upon  it,  so  long  as  it 
remains  in  the  hands  of  this  ring  of  Champaign  speculators. 

This,  they  have,  under  the  circumstances  a  perfect  legal 
and  moral  right  to  do.  Indeed  it  would  be  shamefully  wrong  not 
to  do  it.  The  people  of  the  state  can  perhaps  afford  to  be  taxed  by 
the  machinations  of  the  Champaign  ring  to  the  tune  of  some  ten 
or  twenty  millions,  to  build  palatial  state  houses  at  Springfield,  to 
pay  a  corps  of  men  five  dollars  per  day,  and  twelve  thousand  dol- 
lars per  annum  to  look  on  and  see  it  done ;  they  can  perhaps  afford 
to  build  penitentiaries  at  Cairo,  at  the  most  sickly  point  in  the 
state,  where  there  are  no  stone,  and  where  the  whole  ground  has 
to  be  elevated  some  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  before  the  work  is 
begun,  to  keep  the  yards  and  grounds  above  water,  and  where  no 
fresh  vegetables  can  be  supplied  to  the  prisoners  from  around 
the  inundated  grounds  in  all  time  to  come.  They  can  afford  per- 
haps to  dig  canals  from  the  lakes  to  the  river,  or  from  the  At- 
lantic to  the  Pacific,  if  need  be.  But  they  cannot  afford  to  allow 
such  corrupt  rings  to  be  formed  at  the  Capital,  to  vote  any  amount 
of  money  they  please  out  of  their  pockets  from  year  to  year  in 
kno^\^l  defiance  of  the  entire  spirit,  if  not  of  the  express  letter  of 
the  constitution  of  the  state,  without  some  just  and  signal  rebuke 
to  the  plotters  and  abetters  of  all  such  schemes.  Nor  can  they 
afford  to  see  the  noble  endo\^Tnents  of  the  republic,  designed  at 
once  to  be  the  heritage  and  glory  of  unborn  generations,  made  the 
mere  football  of  the  knaves  and  sharpers,  who  please  to  conspire 
at  the  capital,  to  impose  such  burdens  and  such  outrages  upon  a 
betrayed  and  insulted  people. 

But  we  do  not,  after  all,  in  the  least  despair  of  the  great 
and  good  cause  of  popular  Industrial  Education.  These  western 
states  must,  and  will  learn  to  organize  and  control  institutions 
so  indispensable  to  their  prolonged  republican  existence  and  life 
and  power.  It  may  take  a  long  and  sad  apprenticeship  and  ex- 
perience. It  may  take  till  w^e  are  all  in  our  graves.  But  it  will 
come  at  last,  borne  onward  by  the  triumphant  rejoicings  of  our 
children's  children,  amid  the  hallelujahs  of  a  continent  enfran- 
chised with  the  full  blessings  of  light  and  liberty  forevermore. 

Respectfully  submitted  to  the  people  of  Illinois. 
March  4,  '67.  J.  B.  TURNER, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee 


Report  of  a  Committee  on  Location  of  tlie  University    505 

This  is  written  and  published  at  the  request  of  those  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  who  were  at  Springfield  and  cognizant  of 
the  facts  of  the  case.  The  members  not  present  are  of  course 
not  responsible  for  the  position  it  assumes,  or  for  the  facts  it 
discloses. 

J.  B.  T. 


506  Jlistortj  Universitu  of  lUinois 

DOOUMENT  NUMBER  20 
HISTORY  OF  THE  CHAIMPAIGN  "ELEPHANT," 

BY  ONE  OF  THE  '  *  RING, ' ' 

From  the  Chicago  Times,  March  21,  1867. 

In  another  part  of  this  issue  will  be  found  a  letter  from  a 
member  of  the  Champaign  "Agricultural  college  ring,"  who, 
disappointed  by  his  failure  to  obtain  the  "chair  of  moral  phil- 
osophy" in  that  institution — or  what  would  be  considered  its 
equivalent,  an  opportunity  to  handle  a  large  amount  of  some 
other  man's  money — turns  "state's  evidence"  and  exposes  the 
internal  operations  of  the  ring  without  mercy. 

The  exposure  is  rich,  racy  and  instructive.  It  fully  corrob- 
orates all  the  statements  of  corruption,  rascality  and  "scuggery" 
made  by  Professor  Turner  in  his  recently  published  report,  and 
will  convince  the  public  that  the  corruption  of  the  recent  legis- 
lature of  Illinois  has  not  one-half  been  told.  Among  other  ways 
in  which  the  Champaign  ring  made  use  of  a  $30,000  corruption 
fund,  was  the  subsidizing  of  the  country  press  generally,  ex- 
cepting in  the  counties  of  Morgan  and  JMcLean,  and  the  writer, 
states  moreover,  that  ' '  we  subsidize  the  two  lesser  radical  lumin- 
aries in  Chicago  with  $500  each."  Whether  the  amount  of  the 
subsidy  for  one  of  these  cheap  luminaries  went  into  the  coffers  of 
its  Springfield  owner,  Mr.  Jacob  Bunn,  or  the  pockets  of  Mr. 
Jacob  Bunn's  Chicago  enfants,  is  not  stated.  The  amount  men- 
tioned seems  to  indicate  the  price  of  the  latter,  although  it  is 
probably  intended  to  purchase  the  former. 

This  expose  of  the  Champaign  swindle  will  possibly  serve  to 
open  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  fact  that  there  were  perpe- 
trated, with  the  aid  of  the  recent  legislature,  yet  greater  swindles 
than  this.  The  statehouse  ring  have  managed  better  than  the 
Champaign  "male  and  female  seminary"  ring  to  provide  all 
its  members  with  the  "fat  berths"  that  were  allotted  to  them  in 
the  original  scheme.  No  one  was  left  out  to  "peach"  on  the 
rogues  within.  The  plunder  having  been  distributed  according 
to  agreement,  the  thieves  act  harmoniously  in  covering  up  the 
modus  operandi  of  the  theft. 


History  of  the  Champaign  ''Elephant"  507 

Springfield  Correspondence  of  the  Times. 

Springfield,  111.,  March  20. 
Aren't  you  pretty  hard  on  the  Champaign  college  "ring," 
particularly  since  we  have  been  entirely  spooned  out  of  the 
university  skillet  ?  Why  not  hear  reason,  and  allow  me,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  ' '  ring"  to  give  you  a  straight  out  account  of  the  whole 
business  ?  By  so  doing  you  will  give  Brother  Gregory,  the  regent, 
the  finance  and  faculty  committees  and  the  trustees,  a  "pou  sto" 
— which  is  Dutch  for  ' '  where  to  stand ' ' — when  these  gentlemen 
undertake  the  work  of  organizing  and  setting  the  university  ma- 
chinery in  motion. 

THE  URBANA  AND  CHAMPAIGN  MALE  AND 
FEMALE  INSTITUTE 

So,  to  begin  at  the  beginning : — Some  six  or  seven — it  may 
be  eight — ^years  ago,  two  men,  hailing  from  Aurora,  111.,  Messrs. 
Babcock  and  Stoughton,  appeared  at  the  county  seat  of  Cham- 
paign, and  awoke  the  town  from  its  slumbers  by  proposing  a 
grand  educational  scheme,  which  was  to  buy  up  a  tract  of  prairie 
between  the  towns  of  Urbana  and  West  Urbana,  for  $50  to  $100 
per  acre,  as  the  case  might  be,  lay  it  off  into  lots ;  sell  them  at  the 
rate  of  from  $500  to  $1,000  per  acre;  and  on  the  difference  be- 
tween what  they  gave  for  the  land  and  what  they  sold  the  lots  for, 
build,  endow  and  run  the  Urbana  and  Champaign  male  and  fe- 
male institute.  They  instanced  the  success  of  such  a  speculation 
at  Aurora,  Kane  county.  111.,  and  claimed  as  much  for  it  as 
"the  ring"  now  claim  for  the  Illinois  Industrial  Uni-"ersity. 
It  would  raise  the  price  of  lands  and  lots,  bring  in  population  and 
capital,  and  put  Champaign  up  before  the  world  "like  a  city  on  a 
hill  which  cannot  be  hid." 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  ENTERPRISE. 

Well,  (I  was  residing  in  Champaign  countj^  at  that  time, 
and  have  been  there,  off  and  on,  ever  since)  I  went  into  the 
thing — in  fact  we  all  went  into  it,  bald-headed;  and  between 
coaxing,  arguing,  humbugging  and  bullying,  we  soon  got  up 
steam,  and  soon  after  we  were  blowing  it  off  a-howling.    We  let 


508  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  contract,  started  the  building,  and  got  it  well  along  toward 
completion.  When  the  war  came  on  the  excitement  died  out, 
and,  all  of  a  sudden,  we  discovered  that  we  had  an  elephant  on 
our  hands.  We  found  this  fact  out  during  the  summer  of  1864, 
and  then  made  preparations  to  get  the  assistance  of  the  legislature 
which  was  to  come  together  in  January,  1865,  to  transfer  the  ani- 
mal to  the  broader  shoulders  of  the  county  and  the  state.  For  this 
purpose  the  county  loaned  its  aid  to  the  extent  of  some  $8,000, 
and  we  went  to  Springfield  to  effect  the  job,  and  failed.  For  the 
why  and  wherefore  of  our  failure,  let  the  reader  consult  the 
columns  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  for  January  and  February, 
1865 — that  sheet,  to  all  appearances,  then  not  being  under  the 
control  of  the  eminent  agricultural  writer,  with  Harry  "White 
and  Joe  Medill  for  assistants. 

"DEAD-FALL"  FOR  RADICAL  NEWSPAPERS  AND 
LEGISLATURES 

Previous  experience  having  taught  us  how  to  deal  with  rad- 
ical newspapers  and  legislatures,  last  summer  we  set  a  "dead- 
fall" for  both,  pretty  near  in  the  following  manner.  (Not  being 
on  the  ground  I  may  not  be  exact  in  every  particular ;  but  you 
may  rely  on  it,  Mr.  Editor,  that  the  general  facts  are  correctly 
stated.) 

First — We  made  an  arrangement  with  the  county  board  to 
take  the  institute  building  and  grounds  (ten  acres)  from  us,  the 
county  giving  us  therefore  $30,000  in  county  bonds,  drawing 
ten  per  cent,  interest. 

Second — We  prevailed  on  the  board  of  supervisors  to  order 
an  election  for  an  appropriation  of  $100,000  in  aid  of  the  enter- 
prise. This  we  carried  by  the  usual  appliances  of  coaxing,  bul- 
lying and  humbugging. 

Third — We  obtained  an  appropriation  of  $5,000  from  the 
board  of  supervisors  to  pay  LEGISLATIVE  EXPENSES;  and 
further,  got  them  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three  of  their  own 
number  to  go  to  Springfield  and  see  the  thing  out. 

Fourth — Meantime  one  man  Griggs  had  been  elected  repre- 
sentative to  the  general  assembly  from  this  district,  and  the 
cities  of  Urbana  and  Champaign  appropriated  the  first  $200  and 


History  of  the  Champaign  "Elephant"  509 

the  last  named  $300,  to  be  paid  over  to  him,  to  be  used  to  the  best 
advantage  in  furthering  the  design  of  ' '  the  ring. ' ' 

GRIGGS'  OPERATIONS. 

He  immediately  took  the  cars  and  traveled  up  and  down  the 
state;  and  according  to  the  Chicago  Tribune  correspondent's 
puff  of  him,  written  for  the  purpose  of  putting  him  into  the  office 
of  treasurer,  he  was  mainly  instrumental  in  getting  up  the  state 
house  swindle,  the  Cairo  penitentiary  swindle,  and,  if  you  will 
have  it  so,  the  Champaign  county  swindle,  and  putting  them 
through  the  legislature 

A  BID. 

Meantime,  we,  "the  ring",  had  prepared  a  bid,  under  the 
authority  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Champaign  county, 
about  as  follows :  The  Urbana  and  Champaign  male  and  female 
institute  building  and  ten  acres  of  ground,  at  a  cost  to  the  county 
of  $30,000 ;  160  acres  of  land  in  section  18,  $14,000 ;  and  640  acres 
of  prairie  parts  of  section  21  and  28,  situated  three  and  one  half 
miles  from  the  college  at  $50  per  acre  $34,000 ;  in  all  say  $78,000. 
—The  county  had  already  voted  $100,000,  of  which  $5,000  had 
been  appropriated.  So  we  had  $17,000  left  for  working  expenses. 
To  be  sure  we  put  this  bid  in  at  more  than  twice  these  figures  but 
that  was  to  be  the  cost  to  the  county. 

OPERATIONS  AT  SPRINGFIELD. 

We  went  to  Springfield  early  and  engaged  a  suite  of  rooms 
at  the  Leland  House,  at  the  trifling  cost  of  $30  per  day,  to  be  used 
as  headquarters.  A  whiskey  chebang  was  opened  next  door,  where 
everything  was  free  to  our  friends.  We  decreed  a  subvention  to 
the  country  press  outside  of  McLean  and  Morgan  counties ;  sub- 
sidized two  of  the  lesser  radical  luminaries  of  Chicago  with  the 
payment  of  $500  each,  more  or  less ;  paid  the  tavern  bills  of  our 
friends  and  members  of  "the  ring";  and,  by  the  use  of  money, 
whiskey,  stuffing,  padding  and  f  orcepumping,  kept  the  newspaper 
correspondents  up  to  their  work;  and  as  a  consequence,  nearly 
the  whole  press  of  the  state  was  filled  with  puffs  of  the  greatness 
and  gloiy  of  the  Champaign  county  "ring". 


510  History  Univcrsily  of  Illinois 

THE  EVANGELICAL  HEADQUARTERS. 

For  the  evangelical  and  temperance  portion  of  ''the  ring" 
and  their  friends,  Ave  had  a  quiet  room  set  apart  provided  only 
with  a  bible,  a  pitcher  of  cold  water,  and  a  bottle  of  bay  rum 
(for  the  hair)  ;  and  here  your  correspondent  spent  most  of  his 
time.  How  much  money  was  paid  to  senators  or  representatives 
for  their  votes ;  how  much  champagne  was  drunk ;  how  much  bad 
whiskey  swallowed,  and  how  much  deviltry  generally  and  stealing 
particularly,  was  accomplished,  your  correspondent,  from  his 
pious  associations  has  no  means  of  knowing.  He  goes  no  deeper 
into  the  affair  than  common  report  in  Springfield  gives  him  au- 
thority for  doing. 

OPPONENTS. 

But,  though  we  had  the  inside  track  by  previous  arrange- 
ment, we  found  a  formidable  crowd  from  Jacksonville,  headed 
by  old  man  Turner,  (who  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble)  ;  an- 
other body ;  equally  formidable,  from  Bloomington ;  to  say 
nothing  about  the  Lincoln  boys.  Of  course,  $5,000  soon  disap- 
peared, and  we  had  to  "go  back"  on  the  people  of  Champaign 
county  for  more  money  and  a  bigger  bid ;  again  for  a  bigger  bid 
and  more  money ;  and  so  on,  several  times  repeated. 

ANOTHER  BID. 

Finally,  we  brought  the  thing  to  a  head  by  a  bid  valued  at 
$400,000  but  at  a  cost  to  the  county  not  including  legislative  ex- 
penses, of  $200,200,  as  follows : 

Champaign  Male  and  Female  Institute  buildings  and 

ten  acres  of  land  near  centre  section  7  T.  19,  9  E,  $  30,000 
N1/2  S.  E.  and  S.  1/2  N.  E.  section  18,  T.  19  9  E. 

160  acres 14,000 

The  Griggs  tract  of  400  acres,  section  21,  T.  19,  9  E. 

at  $55 22,000 

The  Busey  tract,  410  acres,  section  19,  T.  19,  9  E. 

at  $70 28,700 

Bonds  of  Champaign  county 100,000 

The  Dunlap  subsidy  of  fruit  and  shade  trees  "at 

lowest  catalogue  rates" 2,000 


History  of  tlie  Champaign  "ElepJiant"  511 

The  Griggs  subvention 500 

Commission,  profit  and  loss,  say 3,000 

Total  cost $200,200 

LEGISLATIVE  FUNDS. 

Now,  we  will  get  at  the  amount  of  legislative  expenses,  or 
corruption  fund  if  you  will,  by  ascertaining  the  difference  of  the 
cost  of  the  bid  and  the  sums  voted  or  to  be  voted : 

There  was  voted  at  the  October  election $100,000 

They  are  called  on  to  vote  in  March  and  April ....   130,000 


Total  voted  and  to  be  voted $230,000 

Cost  of  bid  as  above 200,200 


Total  corruption  fund $  29,800 

There  old  man  Turner,  put  that  in  your  pipe  and  smoke  it ; 
and  you,  fellows  at  Bloomington  laid  Lincoln,  learn  from  this 
how  you  are  to  deal  Avith  radical  legislatures  in  future. — Some 
say  the  corruption  fund  comes  nearer  to  $50,000  than  $30,000 ; 
and  that  "the  ring"  intends  to  wring  this  out  of  the  voters  of 
Champaign  county  one  of  these  days.  Such  a  statement  is  a 
slander, 

ARGUMENTS  TO  BE  USED  IN  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY. 

But  some  outsiders,  perhaps,  will  ask.  Will  the  people  of 
Champaign  county  vote  this  $130,000?  Of  course  they  will,  for 
we  have  "a  dead-fall"  on  them,  which  they  can't  avoid;  and 
I  vvdll  tell  you  how — Tom  B.  Macauley  says,  somewhere,  "That 
never  was  a  work  of  human  policy  so  well  deserving  of  examina- 
tion as  the  Roman  Catholic  church. ' '  I  think  if  Tom  knew  of  the 
Champaign  county  "ring"  organization,  he  would  "go  back"  on 
that  statement. 

In  order  to  carry  the  scheme  through,  we  have  got  ready  the 
following  arguments,  and  they  are  to  be  used  there,  in  to\\ni  and 
country,  according  as  they  will  touch  the  tender  spots  of  voters : 


512  History  University  of  Illinois 

The  "sell  out"  argument; 
The  ' '  advanee-in-rcal-cstate ' '  argument ; 
The  *  *  great-(lemand-f  or-labor ' '  argument ; 
The  ' '  abundance-of-labor ' '  argument ; 

The  ' '  no-sale-of-liquor-within-a-mile-of-the-collegc ' '  argu- 
ment ; 

The  argument  that  the  college  act  is  no  force  as  against  the 
city  charter, — called  for  short,  the  "poppycock"  argument; 

The  ' '  evangelical ' '  argument ; 

The  "dead-open-and-shut"  argument. 

The  above  are  to  be  used  within  the  limits  of  the  town  of 
Urbana  and  West  Urbana,  and  explain  themselves  with  the  ex- 
ception, perhaps,  of  the  "dead-open-and-shut"  argument.  This 
is  used  with  the  silly  few  who  persist  in  denouncing  the  whole 
thing  as  infamous;  and  consists  in  bullying,  denunciations  and 
threats.  I  am  happy  to  report  to  you  that  no  minister  of  the 
gospel,  or  member  of  the  church,  requires  the  use  of  the  "dead- 
open-and-shut"  argument.  As  a  member  of  that  prayerful  sect, 
the  Hard  Shell  Baptists,  I  am  rejoiced  at  the  circumstance. 

For  the  country,  "the  ring"  have  got  up  the  following  argu- 
ments : 

The  "poultry"  argument, — subdivided  in  the  "cock-and- 
hen,"  the  " duck-and-gosling, "  the  "hen-turkey,"  and  the  "50- 
cents-a-dozen-f or-eggs, ' '  arguments ; 

The  "stock"  argument, — subdivided  into  the  "bull-calf," 
the ' '  breeding-sow, ' '  and  the  ' '  high-price-of -mutton ' '  arguments ; 

The  "dairy"  arguments, — subdivided  into  the  "butter-and- 
cheese"  argument,  the  "sweet-cream"  argument,  the  "sour- 
milk"  argument,  and  for  the  Dutch,  the  "smere-case"  argument; 

The  "vegetable"  argument, — subdivided  into  the  "apple- 
pie  Root"  argument,  the  "early-potato"  argument,  and,  for 
the  Germans,  (and  a  strong  card  it  is,)  the  "sour-krout"  argu- 
ment. 

They  use  a  great  many  others ;  but  these  are  the  arguments 
on  which  "the  ring"  rely,  and  which  will  carry  them  through. 


History  of  tlie  Champaign  "EleplianV  513 

HOW  THE  RING  GOT  SCOOPED. 

But  I  must  tell  you  how  we  were  scooped  here  at  Springfield 
when  we  got  together  to  organize.  We  had — and  when  I  say  we, 
I  mean  ''the  ring" — allotted  the  offices  out  pretty  much  as  fol- 
lows :  A  radical  senator,  whom  the  boys  rather  irreverently  called 
"Old  Pinkeye",  was  our  man  for  regent.  The  persistency  and 
steadiness  with  which  the  round  of  ' '  rings, ' '  together  with  * '  other 
good  and  reliable  considerations, ' '  pointed  him  out  as  the  man  for 
the  head  of  the  institution.  Griggs  was  to  have  the  treasureship, 
' '  with  a  low  bond ' ' ;  Dunlap  the  corresponding  secretaryship ; 
and  Dunlap,  Cunningham,  and  whomsoever  the  governor  should 
appoint  (and  we  and  Scroggs  in  view)  were  to  be  the  finance  and 
executive  committees.  (I  may  as  well  confess  here  that  I  had 
my  eye  on  the  professorship  of  moral  philosophy  and  had  already 
got  some  notes  together  for  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  theory 
and  practice  of  early  piety.) 

But  our  plans  were  knocked  endways  by  the  election  of  Bro. 
Gregory  as  regent,  the  fixing  of  the  bond  at  $300,000  instead 
of  $30,000,  and  the  choice  of  Bunnover  Griggs.    And,  worst  of 

all,  not  a  d d  solitary  man  of  the  Champaign  trustees  got  on 

the  finance  or  faculty  committees,  except  Judge  Joe  Cunning- 
ham ;  and  he  will  never  set  Boneyard  brook  afire,  you  may  be 
sure.    That 's  the  way  they  snubbed  us  and  be  d d  to  them ! 

Do  you  wonder  one  of  "the  ring"  turns  state's  evidence? 

THE  DISPUTED  TRUSTEESHIP. 

Before  I  end  I  must  tell  you  about  the  disputed  trusteeship, 
alluded  to  by  an  Urbana  correspondent  of  yours,  some  days  ago. 
Col.  Coles  made  his  threat  good  that  Busey  should  not  be  ap- 
pointed. The  governor,  (and  a  better  man  does  not  live,  nor  ex- 
emplary, if  he  has  like  myself  a  few  Hard- Shell  characteristics,) 
on  receiving  letters,  from  Harmon  and  Somers,  both  democrats, 
appointed  Scroggs.  As  soon  as  this  was  known  in  Urbana,  a  com- 
mittee of  half  the  town  came  down  here  a-howling. — After  a 
great  deal  of  labor  Dr.  Scroggs  consented  to  send  in  his  resigna- 
tion ;  and  the  governor  half  promised  in  case  he  could,  under  a 
just  construction  of  the  organic  act,  that  he  would,  after  the  first 


514  Jlislurij  Jj)iivcrsit\j  of  Illinois 

of  April,  (a  good  day  for  such  a  job,)  accept  Scroggs'  resignation 
and  appoint  Busey  in  his  place.  Any  one  with  half  an  eye  can 
see  that  this  half-promise  of  Richard's  is  only  "a  blind",  and 
that  Scroggs,  who  is  always  in  luck,  and  a  roaring  radical,  is 
sure  to)  hold  on  to  the  trusteeship — unless  he  gets  a  better  thing. 
But  the  ever-ready  "ring"  folks  get  out  of  this  business 
two  strong  arguments, — one  for  use  on  the  anti-Scroggs  men,  and 
the  other  to  rake  in  the  anti-Busey  men.  To  one  party  they  say, 
"See  how  the  governor  has  scooped  Busey" ;  to  the  other,  "Don't 
you  see  what  a  dead-fall  we  have  got  on  Scroggs  ? ' '  Gov.  Richard 
played  the  thing  sharp,  bless  his  innocent  heart  and  rosy  face ! 

A  LUCKY  MAN. 

By  the  way,  this  Dr.  Scroggs  is  one  of  the  luckiest  men  alive. 
He  is  the  first  man  who  nominated  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  Presi- 
dency; he  was  postmaster  at  Urbana  for  a  long  time,  and  has 
the  same  office  within  his  grasp  at  this  moment ;  he  beat  the  dem- 
ocrats and  radicals  both  for  the  treasureship ;  he  out-manoeu- 
vered  the  committee  who  came  to  Springfield  to  compel  him  to 
resign ;  he  is  noAv  setting  his  pins  to  succeed  Bromwell,  and  with 
good  chances  of  success. 

Will  C.  W.  take  the  hint,  and  this  time  get  in  ahead  by 
nominating  Dr.  Scroggs  for  the  Presidency? 

There,  there's  the  whole  story,  and  isn't  the  whole  business 
as  straight  as  a  string,  say? 

(Signed) 

Rev. 

H.  S.  P.  B. 


Griggs  and  tJic  Location  of  the  University  515 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  21 

An  interview  of  Allan  Nevins  with  Clark  Robinson  Griggs  reported 
in  1915  to  the  President  of  the  University.  It  is  essentialy  the  same  as 
a  communication  written  by  Mr.  Griggs,  himself,  to  President  Edmund 
J.  James  under  date  of  June  8,  1904.  The  interview  is  a  little  fuller  in 
details  in  regard  to  some  events. 

Clark  Robinson  Griggs  and  the  Location  of 
the  University 

— I— 

The  Morrill  Land  Grant  Act  was  signed  by  Lincoln  July  2, 
1862 ;  and  though  Illinois  delayed  her  acceptance  of  its  benefits, 
all  attempts  to  secure  a  dissipation  of  the  funds  made  available 
fell  through,  and  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature  of 

1865  it  was  apparent  that  the  next  session  would  witness  the 
location  of  a  single  land-grant  institution.  Mr.  Griggs  remem- 
bers several  mass-meetings  held  at  different  points  in  1865  and 

1866  by  communities  ambitious  to  secure  the  new  college,  and 
himself  attended  one  at  Bloomington.  The  State  agricultural 
and  horticultural  societies,  and  various  educational  w^orkers,  were 
deeply  interested  in  seeing  laid  the  foundations  of  a  sturdy  cen- 
ter for  the  teaching  of  the  practical  arts.  By  midsummer  of 
1866  it  was  evident  that  Champaign,  Morgan,  McLean,  Logan, 
and  Cook  Counties  would  be  prominent  in  the  contest.  Inter- 
ested persons  in  all  these  communities  were  trying  to  impress 
upon  their  fellow-citizens  the  importance  of  the  matter. 

Nowhere  did  feeling  become  more  lively  than  in  Champaign 
County.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  State,  it  was  felt,  had  been 
neglected  in  the  allotment  of  the  State  institutions;  it  had  a 
keener  and  more  exclusive  interest  in  agriculture  than  most 
others ;  and  Messrs,  Stoughton  and  Babcock,  with  the  aid  of  other 
citizens  of  the  County,  had  vindicated  the  region's  zeal  in  edu- 
cation by  the  founding  of  the  Urbana  and  Champaign  University. 
Many  people,  moreover,  had  been  stimulated  by  the  movement  for 
a  railway  from  Danville  through  Urbana  and  Bloomington  to 
Pekin  to  take  thought  for  the  future  of  the  Twin  Cities.  During 
the  summer  a  committee  of  citizens  in  Urbana  was  formed  by  the 
efforts  of  Judge  Cunningham,  Col.  Sheldon  and  Henry  Miller, 


516  History  University  of  Illinois 

and  another  in  Champaign  by  Dr.  Scroggs  and  Mr.  M.  L.  Dunlap ; 
the  chief  members  being  Col.  Busey,  Dr.  Parks,  Judge  Simms, 
and  Messrs.  Cosgrove,  Gardner,  Shirpy,  and  Halberstadt.  The  en- 
thusiasm of  these  men  was  inspired  by  their  far-sightedness. 
They  believed  that  the  Federal  guarantees  and  the  State's  ar- 
rangement for  perpetual  financial  support  from  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railway,  if  nothing  else,  would  give  the  college  a  great  fu- 
ture. Many  of  them  were  prosperous,  and  willing  to  make  real 
present  sacrifices  to  secure  a  future  gain.  Possibly  greater  sac- 
rifices were  required  than  some  at  first  anticipated,  but  Halber- 
stadt, owner  of  the  local  flouring  mills,  was  the  only  one  ever 
to  complain. 

Realizing  that  an  executive  agent  was  indispensable,  the 
committee  turned  to  Mr.  Griggs.  He  was  well  kno\vn  as  a  farmer, 
a  business  man,  and  one  of  those  interested  in  the  D,  U.  B.  and  P. 
Railway,  while  he  had  been  mayor  of  Urbana.  Before  his  perma- 
nent removal  to  the  County  Seat  in  1860  he  had  been  a  member 
for  two  temis  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  and  had 
taken  a  close  interest  in  political  tactics  at  a  time  when  the 
Hoosac  Tunnel  made  legislative  manoeuvering  an  art.  At  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War  he  had  entered  the  army  as  a  sutler, 
had  served  in  campaigns  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  and  at  Fort 
Pickering  at  Memphis,  and  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  receive  a 
permit  to  bring  cotton  up  the  Mississippi  after  its  opening.  He 
was  well  known  in  circles  of  veterans.  About  forty  years  of  age, 
he  was  a  man  of  very  winning  personality  and  of  unusual  shrewd- 
ness. In  the  autumn  the  District  Republican  Convention  was 
held  in  Urbana,  and  through  the  efforts  of  the  committee  he  was 
put  in  nomination,  though  he  had  never  before  entered  State 
politics.  Called  into  the  chamber  to  receive  the  news,  he  made 
a  brief  speech  in  which  he  touched  upon  his  wish  to  bring  the 
college  to  Urbana-Champaign.  His  election  followed  in  Novem- 
ber. 

—II— 

Immediately  after  the  election  the  citizens  met  to  determine 
what  offer  they  should  make  the  State  as  an  inducement  for  its 
location  of  the  college  with  them ;  and  it  was  decided  that  the 
campaign  which  Mr.  Griggs  was  to  head  must  be  begun  at  once. 


Griggs  and  the  Location  of  the  University  517 

The  supervisors  of  Urbana  and  Champaign  townships  appropri- 
ated $40,000  for  the  expenses  of  this  campaign ;  what  proportion 
came  from  each  tow^lship  Mr.  Griggs  does  not  remember.  He 
shortly  set  out  on  a  quiet  tour  of  the  State  in  an  effort  to  pledge 
votes  to  Champaign  County,  interviewing  only  members  of  the 
lower  House.  He  avoided  Jacksonville,  Lincoln,  and  Blooming- 
ton,  not  wishing  to  put  these  cities  on  their  guard.  Elsewhere  he 
made  a  very  thorough  canvass,  presenting  his  arguments  and 
wherever  possible  finding  some  way  to  commend  himself  to  each 
legislator  he  met.  In  the  space  of  five  weeks  he  thus  interviewed 
nearly  forty  members  out  of  the  total  of  eighty-five,  and  secured 
pledges,  slightly  if  at  all  qualified,  from  perhaps  fifteen.  At  the 
capital  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  Governor  Oglesby  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  Bross,  both  of  whom  listened  to  him  with 
interest.  He  also  saw  the  Republican  State  Chairman,  Mr.  Bab- 
cock,  and  the  Democratic  State  Chairman,  whose  name  Mr.  Griggs 
has  forgotten,  and  induced  them  to  become  paid  servants  of  the 
Champaign  County  Committee.  In  his  tour  he  learned  that  a 
greater  number  of  special  interests  would  be  before  the  legisla- 
ture than  ever  before  in  Illinois  history.  Chicago  was  anxious 
to  secure  legislation  in  connection  with  Jackson  and  other  parks 
and  the  boulevard  system,  and  for  the  deepening  of  the  Chicago 
River.  Southern  Illinois  wanted  a  projected  new  penitentiary. 
Peoria  and  Springfield  were  rivals  for  the  new  State  House, 
though  it  was  commonly  felt  that  Peoria  had  little  chance.  He 
noted  these  ambitions  as  useful  in  future  bargaining.  At  Pekin 
and  Danville  he  urged  that  the  location  of  the  college  at  Urbana 
would  assist  the  prosperity  of  the  railway  then  planned.  Else- 
where he  pointed  out  that  Jacl^onville  already  had  a  number  of 
institutions  of  a  charitable  sort,  that  Bloomington  had  the  normal 
college,  and  that  Chicago  would  grow  fast  enough  without  such  a 
gift,  while  none  of  the  three  cities  could  offer  such  agricultural 
advantages  as  Urbana-Champaign.  None  of  the  other  cities  un- 
dertook such  a  preliminary'  canvass. 

The  legislature  opened  the  first  Monday  in  January,  1867. 
The  Champaign  County  Committee,  at  Mr.  Griggs's  prompting, 
had  prepared  for  the  fight  of  the  next  three  months  by  engaging 
the  principal  reception  room  of  the  Leland  Hotel,  with  several 
suites  of  parlors  and  bedrooms  on  the  second  floor.    The  reception 


518  History  Universiiy  of  Illinois 

room,  holding  two  hundred  people,  was  used  for  general  enter- 
tainment. A  buffet  service  Avas  installed,  and  arrangements  made 
for  serving  elaborate  meals.  Near  Mr.  Griggs's  quarters  were 
placed  those  of  the  Democratic  and  Republican  State  Chairmen. 
At  once  lobbying  was  begun  on  a  lavish  scale,  Members,  whether 
Democrats  or  Eepublieans,  hostile  or  friendly,  were  invited  to 
the  Leland  for  drinks,  for  light  refreshments,  or  for  huge  oyster 
suppers  or  quail  dinners.  They  were  pressed  to  bring  with  them 
any  of  their  constituents  who  happened  to  be  in  town,  and  to 
order  for  such  guests  as  freely  as  for  themselves.  They  were 
supplied  with  cigars,  and  groups  of  them  were  taken  to  the  the- 
atre. During  the  week  three  or  four  of  the  Champaign  County 
Committee  were  always  on  the  ground,  and  at  week  ends,  when 
entertainment  was  at  its  height,  eight  or  ten  would  come  over. 
All  bills  were  sent  in  to  be  covered  by  the  $40,000  fund.  No  other 
community  had  fitted  up  headquarters  in  this  way,  or  made  any 
preparations  for  the  entertainment  of  members.  The  House  was 
greatly  impressed  by  the  earnestness  of  Champaign  County,  and 
many  a  Representative  voted  for  the  Champaign  bill  because 
]Mr.  Griggs  and  his  followers  "had  worked  so  hard". 

— Ill— 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Griggs  carefully  organized  his  campaign 
on  the  floor  of  the  House.  It  was  understood  that  the  Senate 
would  accede  to  whatever  the  House  did,  and  though  Mr.  Tinch- 
ner,  of  Danville,  was  deputed  there  to  take  care  of  the  Twin  City 
interests,  he  had  little  to  do.  At  the  opening  of  the  session  Mr. 
Griggs  was  named  for  speaker  by  one  faction  of  the  Republicans, 
and  Mr.  Corwin,  of  Bloomington,  by  another.  This  was  upon 
the  initiative  of  Mr.  Griggs's  friends,  and  though  he  did  not 
court  the  position  as  aiding  him  in  passing  the  bill,  he  later  saw 
in  the  nomination  the  possibility  of  a  helpful  bargain.  The  con- 
test was  regarded  as  indicating  that  the  struggle  for  the  college 
would  lie  between  Bloomington  and  Urbana-Champaign,  and  that 
Chicago,  Jacksonville,  and  Lincoln  were  already  falling  behind. 
For  two  days  Mr.  Griggs  commanded  thirty-five  votes,  and  pre- 
vented the  organization  of  the  House.  On  the  night  after  the 
second  day  he  was  visited  in  his  parlor  at  the  Leland  by  Senator 


Griggs  mid  tlie  Location  of  tlie  University  519 

Washburne,  who  asked  what  he  would  require  in  return  for  giving 
up  the  contest  to  Mr.  Corwin.  jMr.  Griggs  replied  that  he  wanted 
the  chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  and  the  Me- 
chanic Arts  and  the  privilege  of  naming  a  majority  of  its  mem- 
bers— it  being  the  body  before  which  all  bills  for  the  location 
of  the  college  would  come.  Mr.  Corwin  was  called  into  his  room, 
and  the  bargain  struck.  The  next  day  Mr.  Griggs,  upon  the  floor 
of  the  House,  withdrew  his  candidacy  and  asked  his  supporters  to 
vote  for  Mr.  Corwin.    The  bargin  was  carried  out  to  the  letter. 

Within  a  few  days  after  this  Mr.  Eppler,  for  Jacksonville, 
introduced  a  bill  locating  the  institution  there;  Mr.  Smith,  for 
Bloomington,  introduced  one  locating  it  in  that  city ;  a  member 
for  Lincoln,  and  one  for  Chicago — either  Mr.  Bond  or  ]Mr.  Tay- 
lor— introduced  bills  naming  those  two  cities  respectively.  These 
bills  were  all  worded  alike  except  in  the  clauses  referring  to  lo- 
cation. Brought  in  in  rapid  succession,  they  were  one  by  one, 
without  debate,  referred  to  Mr,  Griggs's  committee.  Finally  he 
introduced  his  own  bill  for  Champaign  County,  but  instead  of 
holding  it  in  committee  had  it  laid  upon  the  table,  so  that  it  could 
be  taken  up  and  put  upon  its  passage  whenever  he  deemed  that 
he  had  sufficient  strength.  On  January,  25,  1867,  the  Legislature 
passed  a  resolution  authorizing  any  town,  city,  or  corporation  to 
bid  for  the  new  institution.  This,  however,  was  merely  per- 
functory, and  no  more  bills  were  brought  in.  A  contest  of  lobby- 
ists for  the  college  now  began  with  the  greatest  vigor.  Prof. 
Turner,  of  Jacksonville,  though  not  a  member,  assisted  Mr.  Ep- 
pler, and  by  his  great  influence  in  all  sections  proved  a  tower  of 
strength.  Mr.  Smith  of  Bloomington  was  helped  by  a  fellow- 
member.  General  Hurlburt,  and  needed  the  assistance,  for  he  was 
inexperienced  in  parliamentary  manoeuvering.  Mr.  Bond  and 
Mr.  Taylor  represented  Chicago.  Lincoln  was  felt  to  stand  no 
chance,  and  Mr.  Griggs  does  not  remember  its  representative. 

At  this  juncture  Governor  Oglesby  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
Bross,  came  out  in  favor  of  Mr.  Griggs,  though  of  course  rather 
in  a  passive  than  an  active  way.  They  were  pleased  by  JMr. 
Griggs's  personality  and  perhaps  moved  by  his  arguments;  and 
they  liked  the  thoroughness  of  his  fight.  In  his  frequent  calls  at 
their  offices  Mr.  Griggs  met  the  Attorney-General,  Colonel  Robert 
Ingersoll,  later  the  famous  lecturer,  and  these  two  became  inti- 


520  History  University  of  Illinois 

mate  friends.  IngcrsoH's  affable  personality  made  him  an  im- 
portant accession.  There  was  much  argument  in  the  halls  of  the 
Capitol,  but  none  on  the  floor.  The  most  important  point  made 
by  the  opponents  of  Champaign  County,  the  inaccessibility  of 
Urbana  except  on  a  north  and  south  line,  was  destroyed  when  a 
charter  was  secured  for  the  D.  U.  B.  and  P.  R.  R.  The  material 
inducements  held  out  by  the  rival  cities  were,  of  course,  offered 
informally,  and  were  increased  as  the  session  wore  on,  Urbana- 
Champaign  in  especial  putting  forth  an  effort  to  keep  ahead  of 
the  others.  Every  meeting  in  Jacksonville  to  subscribe  more  land 
or  money  was  countered  by  a  meeting  in  the  Twin  Cities.  Mr, 
Griggs  states  that  he  believes  his  committees  would  have  doubled 
its  final  total,  and  have  been  gladly  supported  in  doing  so  by  the 
community.  While  his  supporters  worked  as  hard  as  possible, 
Mr.  Griggs  kept  in  the  background  and  managed  affairs  as  si- 
lently as  he  could.  He  was  especially  anxious  to  avoid  making 
enemies  and  for  that  reason  took  little  part  in  debate  on  other 
matters  in  the  House. 

The  inducements  offered  by  Champaign  included  the  new  col- 
lege building  there.  This  was  called  the  "Elephant"  by  enemies 
of  the  County,  but  was  a  very  real  asset,  as  it  was  a  pledge  that 
instruction  could  begin  promptly.  The  building  had  cost  about 
$120,000 ;  it  had  a  frontage  of  125  feet  and  a  depth  of  40  feet, 
with  a  wing  in  the  rear  70  by  44  feet.  The  main  structure  was 
five  stories  high,  the  wing  four,  and  there  was  a  total  of  181 
rooms.  Ten  acres  of  land  around  this  building  were  offered, 
with  1601/^  acres — Mr.  Griggs  believes  owned  by  Colonel  Busey — 
within  a  half  mile,  410  acres  adjoining,  and  400  more — of  which 
240  was  Mr.  Griggs 's  own — within  two  miles — a  total  of  980  acres. 
With  this  were  offered  $2,000  worth  of  shade  and  fruit  trees 
from  the  Dunlap  nurseiy,  $100,000  worth  of  Champaign  County 
ten  per  cent  twenty  year  bonds,  and  $50,000  worth  of  freight  on 
the  Illinois  Central  Railway.  The  total  was  valued  by  the  Legis- 
lative committee  under  A.  I.  Enoch,  which  visited  all  the  bidding 
communities  and  reported  February  16,  at  $285,000 — less  than 
the  total  valuations  of  the  offerings  of  the  other  counties.  Mr. 
Griggs  remembers  that  Morgan  County  offered,  so  far  as  it  had 
any  power  to  do  so,  to  merge  Illinois  College  and  Berean  College 
with  the  new  institution,  and  that  Bloomington  hoped  to  do  so 


Griggs  mid  the  Location  of  tlie  University  521 

with  the  normal  college.    Neither  of  these  two  offered  so  much 
land. 

—IV— 

As  the  session  proceeded,  the  members  for  other  cities  and 
especially  for  Jacksonville,  began  to  complain  because  their  bills 
were  not  reported  out  of  committee.  Repeatedly  Mr.  Eppler 
would  rise  and  inquire  the  reason  for  the  delay  in  the  case  of  the 
Jacksonville  bill ;  and  as  often  Mr.  Griggs  would  inform  him  that 
he  had  attempted  to  call  his  committee  together  and  had  failed 
to  secure  a  quorum.  He  would  publicly  and  ostentatiously  sum- 
mon the  members  of  this  committee  and  later  whisper  them  not  to 
appear.  In  this  manner  the  bills  were  prevented  from  coming 
up  until  Mr.  Griggs  had  marshalled  his  strength. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  session  Mr.  Griggs  had  begun  a  se- 
ries of  compromises  or  exchanges  with  the  members  of  other  cities 
seeking  ends  of  their  own.  As  Peoria  would  support  Blooming- 
ton  anyway,  he  offered  Springfield  the  vote  of  eastern  Illinois  in 
support  of  her  bill  to  build  the  new  State  House  in  the  old  cap- 
ital. A  similar  bargain  was  struck  with  many  representatives 
from  southern  Illinois,  desirous  of  the  new  penitentiary,  and — 
most  important  of  all — with  Chicago,  hopeful  of  improvement  in 
her  park  and  boulevard  system.  The  members  for  Chicago  and 
Springfield  were  persuaded  also  to  convert  their  newspapers  to 
the  cause  of  Urbana-Champaign,  and  succeeded  in  every  impor- 
tant case  except  that  of  the  Chicago  Trihune,  which  to  the  end 
maintained  Chicago's  pretensions  to  the  institution.  In  no  case 
did  Mr.  Griggs  approach  these  newspapers  himself. 

The  marked  success  of  Mr.  Griggs's  efforts,  coupled  with  the 
generous  hospitality  of  the  committee,  finally  came  to  excite  sus- 
picion. The  hospitality,  indeed,  was  not  confined  to  that  shown 
at  the  Leland  House.  Following  the  rather  neutral  report  of 
the  committee  appointed  to  visit  all  the  localities  that  were  can- 
didates for  the  college,  Mr.  Griggs,  acting  for  Champaign  County, 
hired  a  special  train  and  took  the  entire  Legislature  over  to  the 
Twin  Cities  to  see  the  proposed  site.  The  gathering  was  enter- 
tained at  dinner  before  returning.  But  it  was  the  money  used 
for  entertainment  in  Springfield  that  bred  a  general  whisper 
that  bribery  was  not  unknown  to  the  Champaign  County  commit- 
tee.   Mr.  Griggs  believes  that  it  was  the  urging  of  a  number  of 


522  History  University  of  Illinois 

scandal-mongers  rather  than  Mr.  Turner's  own  observation  which 
led  him  to  take  the  step  he  did.  At  any  rate,  he  finally  came  to 
Mr.  Griggs  and  threatened  to  have  him  called  before  the  bar 
of  the  House  and  put  upon  his  oath  that  he  was  not  using  impro- 
per means,  Mr.  Griggs  stoutly  denied  that  there  had  been  any 
illegal  practices,  and  expressed  his  entire  willingness  to  make  a 
statement  to  the  House  on  the  subject  and  take  his  oath  on  it. 
The  matter  was  never  given  public  attention,  Messrs.  Turner  and 
Eppler  seeing  how  impolitic  any  unsupported  accusations  would 
be.  The  personal  relations  between  Mr.  Griggs  and  Turner,  it 
may  be  added,  remained  amicable,  though  the  bitterness  of  the 
latter  increased  as  he  saw  that  defeat  was  certain. 

Not  until  the  very  closing  days  of  the  session,  when  his  and 
his  companions '  efforts  had  made  victory  certain,  did  Mr.  Griggs 
release  the  bills  from  his  committee.  He  was  then  absolutely  cer- 
tain of  the  result.  He  assured  some  incredulous  committeemen 
whom  he  sav/  on  his  last  visit  to  Urbana-Champaign  that  he  could 
count  on  fifty-seven  votes.  A  special  evening  session  was  ar- 
ranged, some  three  or  four  days  in  advance  of  adjournment,  for 
the  consideration  of  the  bills  relating  to  the  college.  When  the 
hour  came  the  galleries  were  packed  and  the  halls  full.  Gover- 
nor Oglesby  and  Attorney-General  Ingersoll  entered  the  House 
and  had  seats  placed  near  that  of  Mr.  Griggs,  in  token  of  their 
support  of  him.  Mr.  Eppler  first  called  up  the  bill  for  Jackson- 
ville, and  spoke  for  more  than  half  an  hour  upon  it;  it  was  de- 
feated by  the  combined  votes  of  Bloomington,  Urbana,  and  Chi- 
cago. Members  from  Chicago  and  Lincoln  offered  their  bills, 
with  a  few  remarks,  and  the  vote  showed  only  a  nominal  support 
for  them.  That  for  Bloomington,  upon  which  General  Hurlburt 
spoke  in  a  half-hearted  way — he  told  Mr.  Griggs  afterward  that 
he  was  convinced  in  advance  of  its  defeat — was  also  lost,  though 
it  received  twice  as  many  votes  as  had  Jacksonville's.  Mr. 
Griggs  then  moved  that  the  bill  locating  the  college  at  Urbana 
be  taken  from  the  table,  read  for  the  third  time  by  title,  and  put 
upon  its  passage.  He  spoke  briefly  in  its  favor,  and  it  was  passed 
by  a  vote  so  heavy  that  it  was  moved  that  it  be  made  unanimous. 
Governor  Oglesby  and  Lieutenant-Governor  Bross — the  latter 
had  just  come  in — hastened  to  offer  their  congratulations,  and 
even  the  members  from  Jacksonville  accepted  the  result  with  out- 
ward good  grace. 


statement  of  Justin  S.  Morrill  523 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  22 

Statement  by  Justin  S.  Morrill;   copy  furnished  to  the  University  of 
Illinois  by  his  son. 

The  idea  of  obtaining  a  land  grant  for  the  foundation  of 
colleges,  I  think,  I  had  formed  as  early  as  1856.  I  remember 
to  have  broached  the  subject  to  Hon.  Wm.  Hubard,  the  former 
member  of  Congress  from  the  2d  district,  Vermont,  and  he  ob- 
served that  such  a  measure  would  all  be  very  well,  but  that  I 
could  not  expect  it  to  pass. 

Where  I  obtained  the  first  hint  of  such  a  measure  I  am 
wholly  unable  to  say.  Such  institutions  had  already  been  es- 
tablished in  other  countries  and  were  supported  by  their  gov- 
ernments, but  they  were  confined  exclusively  to  agriculture,  and 
this  for  our  people  with  all  their  industrial  aptitudes  and  ingen- 
ious inventions  appeared  to  me  unnecessarily  limited.  If  the 
purpose  was  not  suggested  by  the  well  known  facts  of  the  exist- 
ence of  Agricultural  schools  in  Europe,  it  was  supported  by  this 
fact  and  especially  by  constant  reflections  upon  the  following 
points,  viz: 

First,  that  the  public  lands  of  most  value  were  being  rapidly 
dissipated  by  donations  to  merely  local  and  private  objects,  where 
one  State  alone  might  be  benefitted  at  the  expense  of  the  property 
of  the  Union. 

Second,  that  the  very  cheapness  of  our  public  lands,  and  the 
facility  of  purchase  and  transfer,  tended  to  a  system  of  bad- 
farming,  strip  and  waste  of  soil,  by  encouraging  short  occupancy 
and  a  speedy  search  for  new  homes,  entailing  upon  the  first  and 
older  settlements  a  rapid  deterioration  of  the  soil,  which  would 
not  be  likely  to  be  arrested  except  by  more  thorough  and  scientific 
knowledge  of  Agriculture,  and  by  a  higher  education  of  those 
who  were  devoted  to  its  pursuit. 

Third,  being  myself  the  son  of  a  hard-handed  black-smith, 
the  most  truly  honest  man  I  ever  knew,  who  felt  his  own  depriva- 
tion of  schools,  I  could  not  overlook  mechanics  in  any  measure 
intended  to  aid  the  industrial  classes  in  the  procurement  of  an 
education  that  might  exalt  their  usefulness. 


524  History  University  of  Illinois 

Fourth,  that  most  of  the  existing  collegiate  institutions  and 
their  feeders,  were  based  upon  the  classic  plan  of  teaching  those 
only  destined  to  pursue  the  so-called  learned  professions,  leaving 
farmers  and  mechanics  and  all  those  who  must  win  their  bread  by 
labor,  to  the  hap-hazard  of  being  self-taught  or  not  scientifically 
taught  at  all,  and  restricting  the  number  of  those  who  might  be 
supposed  to  be  qualified  to  fill  places  of  high  consideration  in  pri- 
vate or  public  employments  to  the  limited  number  of  the  gradu- 
ates of  literary  institutions.  The  thoroughly  educated,  being 
most  sure  to  educate  their  sons,  appeared  to  be  perpetuating  a 
monopoly  of  education  inconsistent  with  the  welfare  and  com- 
plete prosperity  of  American  institutions. 

Fifth,  that  it  was  apparent,  while  some  localities  were  pos- 
sessed of  abundant  instrumentalities  for  education,  both  common 
and  higher,  many  of  the  States  were  deficient  and  likely  so  to 
remain  unless  aided  by  the  common  fund  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
public  lands,  which  were  held  for  this  purpose  more  than  any 
other. 


Bills  and  Acts  to  EstahlisJi  an  Educational  iTistiiution    525 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  23 

Copies  of  bills  introduced  or  acts  passed  by  the  state  legislature  in 
the  attempts  to  establish  a  state  university  or  agricultural  college  in 
Illinois. 

Bill  of  1833  to  establish  the 
Illinois  University 

Found  in  Illinois  ScJiool  Report  1887-1888,  p.  CXVII. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  That  there  shall  be  and  hereby  is  created  and 
established  a  university  for  the  education  of  the  youth  in  the 
English,  learned  and  foreign  languages,  the  useful  sciences,  and 
literature,  to  be  known  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Illinois 
University,  and  to  be  governed  and  regulated  as  hereinafter 
directed, 

2.  There  shall  be  a  Board  of  Trustees  appointed,  consisting 
of  ten  persons,  residents  of  this  State,  who  shall  be,  and  hereby 
are  constituted  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  by  the  name  of 
"The  Trustees  of  the  'Illinois  University'  ",  and  in  their  said 
corporate  name  and  capacity  may  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be 
impleaded  in  any  court  of  record,  and  by  that  name  shall  have 
perpetual  succession. 

3.  The  said  trustees  shall  fill  all  vacancies  which  may  hap- 
pen in  their  own  body,  elect  a  president  of  the  board,  secretary, 
treasurer,  and  such  other  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  good 
order  and  government  of  said  corporation,  and  shall  be  com- 
petent in  law  and  equity  to  take  to  themselves  and  their  succes- 
sors in  their  said  corporate  name,  any  estate,  real,  personal  or 
mixed,  by  the  gift,  grant,  bargain,  sale,  conveyance,  will,  devise 
or  bequest  of  any  person  or  persons  whomsoever,  and  the  same 
estate,  whether  real  or  personal,  to  grant,  bargain,  sell,  convey, 
demise,  let,  place  out  on  interest,  or  otherwise  dispose  of  for  the 
use  of  said  University  in  such  manner  as  to  them  shall  seem 
most  beneficial  to  the  institution,  and,  generally,  in  their  said 
corporate  name  shall  have  full  power  to  do  and  transact  all  bus- 
iness necessary  to  the  interests  of  said  institution,  as  fully  and 
effectually,  as  any  natural  person,  body  politic  or  corporate  may 
or  can  do  in  the  management  of  their  own  concerns. 


526  History  University  of  Illinois 

4.  The  said  trustees  shall  have  a  seal  with  sueh  devices 
and  inscriptions  thereon  as  they  shall  think  proper  under  and 
by  which  all  deeds,  diplomas,  certificates  and  acts  of  said  cor- 
poration shall  pass  and  be  authenticated.  The  said  board  shall 
require  their  treasurer  from  time  to  time,  as  may  be  necessary, 
to  give  bond  and  security,  which  bond  shall  be  made  payable  to 
the  Governor  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
conditioned  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office  of 
treasurer  to  said  corporation,  which  bond  shall  be  deposited  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

5.  The  said  Board  of  Trustees,  when  organized  as  afore- 
said, shall  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion  may  require,  make  and 
ordain  rules,  ordinances  and  by-laws  for  the  good  government 
of  the  said  institution  and  the  regulation  of  their  own  body, 
not  repugnant  to  the  lav/s  of  the  State;  provided  that  a  majority 
of  the  said  trustees  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction 
of  business. 

6.  The  said  trustees  shall  have  full  power  to  remove  any 
one  of  their  own  body  for  misconduct,  breach  of  the  by-laws,  or 
gross  immorality,  and  from  time  to  time,  as  the  interests  of  the 
institution  may  require,  to  elect  a  president  of  said  University 
and  such,  professors,  tutors,  instructors,  and  other  officers  of  the 
same,  as  they  may  judge  necessary,  and  shall  determine  the 
duties,  salaries,  emoluments,  responsibilities,  and  tenures  of  their 
several  offices,  and  designate  the  course  of  instruction  in  said 
institution. 

7.  No  president,  professor,  tutor  or  other  officer  of  the  in- 
stitution shall  whilst  acting  in  that  capacity,  be  a  trustee ;  nor 
shall  any  president,  professor,  tutor,  instructor  or  student  ever 
be  required  to  profess  any  particular  religious  opinions,  and  no 
student  shall  be  refused  any  of  the  privileges  or  honors  of  said 
institution  on  account  of  any  religious  opinion  he  may  entertain, 
nor  shall  any  sectarian  tenets  or  principles  be  taught  or  inculcated 
at  said  University  by  any  president,  professor,  tutor  or  other 
person. 

8.  The  said  trustees  shall  have  power  to  contract  for  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  building  or  buildings  for  said  institution, 
and  for  any  quantity  of  land  for  the  use  of  said  institution, 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educational  Institution    527 

not  exceeding  one  hundred  acres.  They  shall  cause  a  true  and 
faithful  account  to  be  kept  of  all  the  financial  concerns  of  the 
institution. 

9.  When  the  said  trustees  of  said  institution  shall  have 
contracted  for  the  buildings  and  land  hereinbefore  mentioned, 
they  shall  transmit  a  copy  of  their  said  contracts  to  the  office 
of  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts,  and  when  the  contracts 
therein  specified  shall  have  been  executed  according  to  the  terms 
thereof,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  trustees  to  certify  the 
fact  under  their  corporate  seal  to  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts, 
who  shall  issue  his  warrant  upon  the  treasury  in  favor  of  the 
persons  who  may  be  entitled  thereto  for  the  sum  of  money  which 
may  seem  to  be  due  from  such  certificate  to  such  person ;  provided 
that  no  more  than  the  sums  following  shall  be  drawn  from  the 
treasury  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  viz. :  The  sum  of  five  thou- 
sand dollars  on  the  first  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1833,  five 
thousand  on  the  first  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1834,  and 
ten  thousand  on  the  first  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1835,  which 
sums  shall  be  appropriated  in  purchasing  the  lands  aforesaid, 
erecting  the  buildings  herein  mentioned  and  in  furnishing  the 
same,  a  detailed  account  of  which  shall  be  laid  before  the  next 
legislature. 

10.  The  interest  arising  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of 
the  seminary  land  and  from  the  seminary  (college)  fund  shall 
be  appropriated  for  the  use  of  said  seminary  to  be  paid  annually 
upon  the  order  of  the  board  of  trustees,  after  the  first  day  of 
January,  A.  D.  1834. 

11.  Dr.  John  Todd,  W.  L.  May,  Edmund  Roberts,  Thomas 
Moffat,  Charles  R.  Matheny  and  Dr.  Thomas  Houghan,  of  San- 
gamon County,  and  A.  W.  Cavarly,  of  Greene  county.  Heart 
Fellows,  of  Schuyler  county.  Patent  P.  McKee,  of  Madison  coun- 
ty, and  C.  Berry,  of  Fayette  county,  are  hereby  appointed  the 
trustees  of  the  said  University,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  and  they  shall  hold  their  first  meeting  in  the  town  of  Spring- 
field, in  Sangamon  county,  on  the  first  IMonday  of  May  next,  and 
they  shall  proceed  to  establish  said  institution  at  or  adjacent  to 
said  town.  This  act  shall  be  so  constructed  as  to  allow  of  any 
modification  the  legislature  from  time  to  time  may  deem  neces- 
sary.   This  act  to  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 


528  History  University  of  Illinois 

Acts  of  1851  to  incorporate  tlio  Farmers'  College  in  Macou- 
pin County,  Illinois. 

Laws  of  Illinois  1851,  p.  181 
AN  ACT   to  incorporate  the   Farmers'   College  in   Macoupin 
county,  Illinois. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  people  of  tlie  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  Assembly,  That  Alvin  M. 
Dixon,  John  A.  Chesnut,  Samuel  Welton,  Grundy  H.  Black- 
burn and  David  A.  McCord,  and  their  successors,  be  and  they 
are  hereby  created  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  by  the  name  of 
the  "Trustees  of  the  Farmers'  College,"  and  by  that  style  and 
name  to  remain  and  have  prepetual  succession.  The  college  shall 
remain  permanently  located  in  Macoupin  county ;  the  number  of 
trustees  shall  not  exceed  fifteen,  exclusive  of  the  president,  prin- 
cipal or  presiding  officer  of  the  college,  who  shall  be  ex-officio 
a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

2.  For  the  present  the  aforesaid  individuals  shall  consti- 
tute the  board  of  trustees,  who  shall  fill  the  remaining  vacancies 
at  their  discretion.  The  object  of  said  corporation  shall  be  the 
promotion  of  the  general  interests  of  education,  and  to  qualify 
young  men  to  engage  in  the  several  employments  of  society,  and 
to  discharge  honorably  and  usefully  the  various  duties  of  life. 

3.  The  corporate  powers  hereby  bestowed  shall  be  such 
only  as  are  essential  or  useful  in  the  attainment  of  said  object, 
and  such  as  are  usually  conferred  on  similar  bodies  corporate, 
viz :  to  have  perpetual  succession,  to  make  contracts,  to  sue  and 
be  sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  to  grant  and  receive,  by 
its  corporate  name,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  as  natural  persons 
may ;  to  accept,  acquire,  purchase  or  sell  property,  real,  personal 
and  mixed,  in  all  lawful  ways ;  to  use,  employ,  manage  and  dis- 
pose of  all  such  property,  and  all  money  belonging  to  said  cor- 
poration, in  such  manner  as  shall  seem  to  the  trustees  best 
adapted  to  promote  the  objects  aforementioned;  and  to  have  a 
common  seal,  and  to  alter  or  change  the  same ;  to  make  such  by- 
laws for  its  regulation  as  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  United  States  or  of  this  state,  and  to  con- 
fer on  such  persons  as  may  be  considered  worthy  such  academical 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Establish  an  Educational  Institution    529 

or  honorary  degrees  as  the  nature  and  title  of  the  institution 
indicate. 

4.  The  trustees  of  the  corporation  shall  have  authority, 
from  time  to  time,  to  prescribe  and  regulate  the  course  of  studies 
to  be  pursued  in  said  college,  and  in  the  preparatory  depart- 
ments attached  thereto,  to  fix  the  rate  of  tuition,  room  rent,  and 
other  college  expenses ;  to  appoint  instructors,  and  such  other  offi- 
cers and  agents  as  may  be  needed  in  managing  the  concerns  of 
the  institution ;  to  define  their  powers,  duties  and  employments ; 
to  fix  their  compensation;  to  displace  and  remove  either  of  the 
instructors,  officers  or  agents,  as  said  trastees  shall  deem  the 
interest  of  the  said  college ;  to  require  to  fill  all  vacancies  among 
said  instructors,  officers  and  agents ;  to  erect  necessary  buildings ; 
to  purchase  books  and  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus,  and 
other  suitable  means  of  instruction ;  to  put  in  operation  a  system 
of  manual  labor,  for  the  purpose  of  lessening  the  expense  of 
education  and  promoting  the  health  of  the  students;  to  make 
rules  for  the  general  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  college, 
and  for  the  regulation  of  the  conduct  of  the  students,  and  to 
add,  as  the  ability  of  the  said  corporation  shall  increase,  and  the 
interest  of  the  community  shall  require,  additional  departments 
for  the  study  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanical  arts,  on  scientific 
principles. 

5.  If  any  trustee  shall  be  chosen  president  of  the  college, 
his  former  place  as  trustee  shall  be  considered  as  vacant,  and  his 
place  filled  by  the  remaining  trustees.  The  trustees  for  the 
time  being  shall  have  powder  to  remove  any  trustee  from  his  office 
of  trastee  for  any  dishonorable  or  criminal  conduct :  Provided, 
that  no  such  removal  shall  take  place  without  giving  to  such 
trustee  notice  of  the  charges  exhibited  against  him,  and  an  oppor- 
tunity to  defend  himself  before  the  board,  nor  unless  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  trustees  for  the  time  being  sliall 
concur  in  such  removal.  The  trastees  for  the  time  being,  in 
order  to  have  perpetual  succession,  shall  have  power,  as  often 
as  a  trustee  is  removed  from  office,  die,  resign  or  remove  out  of 
the  state,  to  appoint  a  resident  of  the  state,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
in  the  board  of  trustees  occasioned  by  such  removal  from  office, 
death,  resignation  or  removal  from  the  state.  A  majority  of  the 
trustees  for  the  time  being  shall  be  a  quorum  to  do  business. 


530  History  University  of  Illinois 

6.  The  trustees  shall  faithfully  apply  all  funds  by  them 
collected,  or  hereafter  collected,  according  to  their  best  judg- 
ment, in  erecting  suitable  buildings,  in  supporting  the  necessary 
instructors,  officers  and  agents;  in  procuring  books,  maps,  charts, 
globes,  philosophical,  chemical,  and  other  apparatus  necessaiy 
to  aid  in  the  promotion  of  sound  learning  in  the  institution: 
Provided,  that  in  case  any  donation,  devise  or  bequest  shall  be 
made  for  particular  purposes,  accordant  with  the  objects  of  the 
institution,  and  the  trustees  shall  accept  the  same,  every  such 
donation,  devise  or  bequest  shall  be  applied  in  conformity  with 
the  express  condition  of  the  donor  or  devisor:  Provided,  also, 
that  lands  donated  or  devised  as  aforesaid  shall  be  sold  or  dis- 
posed of  as  required  by  the  ninth  section  of  this  act. 

7.  The  treasurers  of  said  college  always,  and  all  other 
agents  when  required  by  the  trustees,  before  entering  upon  the 
duties  of  their  appointment,  shall  give  bonds  for  the  security 
of  the  corporation,  in  such  penal  sum  and  with  such  securities 
as  the  board  of  trustees  shall  approve;  and  all  process  against  the 
said  corporation  shall  be  by  summons,  and  service  of  the  same 
shall  be  by  leaving  an  attested  copy  with  the  treasurer  of  the  col- 
lege, at  least  thirty  days  before  the  returned  day  thereof. 

8.  The  said  college  and  its  preparatory  departments  shall 
be  open  to  all  denominations  of  christians,  and  the  profession 
of  any  particular  religious  faith  shall  not  be  required  of  those 
who  become  students.  All  persons,  however,  may  be  suspended 
or  expelled  from  said  institution  whose  habits  are  idle  or  vicious, 
or  whose  moral  character  is  bad. 

9.  The  lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments  to  be  held  in 
perpetuity  in  virtue  of  this  act  by  this  corporation,  shall  not  ex- 
ceed six  hundred  and  forty  acres:  Provided,  Jioivever,  that  if 
donations,  grants  or  devises  in  land  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
be  made  to  this  corporation,  over  and  above  the  six  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  which  may  be  held  in  pei*petuity,  as  aforesaid,  the 
same  may  be  received  and  held  by  such  corporation  for  the  period 
of  three  years  from  the  date  of  every  such  donation,  grant  or 
devise ;  at  the  end  of  Avhieh  time,  if  the  said  lands,  over  and  above 
the  six  hundred  acres,  shall  not  have  been  sold  by  the  said  cor- 
poration, then  and  in  that  case  the  said  lands  so  donated,  granted 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Establish  an  Educational  Institution    531 

or  devised  shall  revert  to  the  donor,  grantor  or  the  heirs  of  the 
devisor  of  the  same,  if  the  donor,  grantor,  or  the  heirs  of  the 
same,  shall  so  demand. 

APPROVED  FEB.  15,  1851. 

Bill  of  1851. 

Illinois  School  Report,  1887-1888  p.  LXXXIV. 

A  Bill  For  An  Act  Organizing  a  State  University  for  the  Benefit 

of  Popular  Education  and  for  Distributing  the  Income 

of  the  College  and  Seminary  Funds. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  hij  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  represented  in  the  General  Assenibly :  That  the  Gover- 
nor, the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  Presidents  of  the  several 
colleges  of  this  State,  complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
shall  together  constitute  a  board  of  education  to  be  styled  the 
* '  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  Illinois. ' ' 

2.  No  seminary  of  learning  shall  be  entitled  to  the  benefits 
conferred  in  this  act  which  is  not  organized  under  a  college  char- 
ter with  a  regular  course  of  study  requiring  four  years  for  its 
accomplishment  and  a  college  faculty  consisting  of  at  least  a 
president,  principal  (or  usher),  and  at  least  two  other  competent 
professors,  an  adequate  librarj^  and  apparatus,  or  shall  not  be 
able  to  exhibit  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  possession  of  property 
in  buildings,  library  and  instruments  of  instruction,  and  per- 
manent productive  funds  to  the  amount  of  at  least  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

3.  The  annual  income  of  the  college  and  seminary  fund 
shall  be  annually  distributed  among  such  colleges  of  the  State 
as  shall  comply  with  the  conditions  prescribed  by  this  act,  giving 
to  each  college  an  equal  share.  The  amount  to  which  each  college 
shall  be  entitled  shall  be  drawn  on  the  warrant  of  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Regents  countersigned  by  the  secretaiy. 

4.  Each  college  receiving  its  share  of  the  income  of  the  said 
funds  shall  he  obligated  to  instruct  gratuitously  one  pupil  from 
each  county  in  this  State ;  and  if  no  person  shall  make  applica- 
tion from  any  county  in  this  State  at  the  opening  of  any  session. 


532  History  University  of  Illinois 

then  a  number  equal  to  the  entire  number  of  counties  shall  be 
received  from  such  other  applicants  as  may  present  evidences 
of  having  complied  with  the  conditions  of  this  act.  Provided, 
That  an  equal  number  shall  be  selected  from  each  of  the  counties 
from  which  there  are  applicants ;  and,  provided,  also,  that  in  case 
there  are  not  vacancies  to  admit  all  the  applicants,  the  preference 
shall  be  given  to  those  from  the  most  populous  counties.  Pro- 
vided, also,  that  no  college  shall  be  required  to  receive  for  gratu- 
itous instruction  a  larger  number  of  applicants  than  will  exhaust 
its  distributive  share  of  the  college  and  seminary  funds  at  the 
rate  of  twenty-five  dollars  per  annum  for  each  student  so  in- 
structed. 

5.  No  applicant  shall  be  admitted  to  gratuitous  instruction 
under  this  act  except  those  who  exhibit  the  certificate  of  the 
judge  of  the  county  court  of  the  county  in  which  he  resides,  that 
he  possesses  a  good  moral  character  and  promising  talent. 

6.  Every  candidate  for  gratuitous  instruction  shall,  on  be- 
ing admitted  to  either  of  the  colleges,  give  security  that,  in  case 
he  does  not  spend  in  the  course  of  five  years  after  leaving  college 
as  long  a  time  in  teaching  within  this  State  as  it  may  require 
to  complete  the  entire  course  prescribed  for  the  qualification,  he 
shall  refund  to  the  college  the  amount  of  the  regular  rates  of  tu- 
ition during  the  time  he  was  gratuitously  instructed,  with  six 
per  cent  interest  thereon  from  the  time  it  became  due  by  the  rules 
of  the  college ;  and  such  security  shall  be  by  bond  satisfactory  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  college ;  and,  if  required  by  him,  the  bond 
shall  from  time  to  time  be  rencAved,  said  bond  to  be  void  only 
on  condition  that  the  teacher  give  satisfactory  proof  of  having  in 
good  faith  taught  school  for  the  time  and  in  the  manner  required 
by  this  act,  which  proof  shall  be  by  quarterly  reports  in  such 
form  as  shall  be  prescribed,  verified  by  the  certificate  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  schools  taught  or  such  other  evidence  as  may  be 
satisfactory  to  said  treasurer. 

7.  Each  college  receiving  a  share  of  the  benefits  conferred 
in  thia  act  shall  sustain,  upon  the  same  footing  as  its  other  pro- 
fessors, a  professor  of  English  literature  and  Nonnal  instniction 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  secure  all  pupils  wishing  to  qualify 
themselves  for  teaching,  such  a  course  of  instruction  as  shall  be 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educational  Institution    533 

adapted  to  that  purpose  and  shall  deliver  annually  a  course  of 
not  less  than  twenty  lectures  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  school 
teaching,  said  lectures  to  be  open  to  all  practical  teachers  free  of 
any  charge. 

8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Regents  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity to  admit  into  connection  with  that  board  and  to  partici- 
pation in  all  the  benefits  conferred  by  this  act  any  college  which 
may  hereafter  exhibit  evidence  of  having  complied  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  and  apply  for  admission;  and  if  the  applica- 
tion of  any  college  shall  be  rejected,  the  said  college  shall  have 
a  right  to  appeal  to  the  circuit  court  of  the  county  of  Sangamon 
who  shall  hear  such  an  appeal  in  a  summary  way,  and  whose  de- 
cision shall  be  final. 

9.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  heads  of  all  the  existing  col- 
leges of  this  State  to  meet  at  Springfield  on  the  call  of  the  Gov- 
ernor within  three  months  after  the  passage  of  this  act  to  exhibit 
to  the  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State  evidence  of  their  right 
to  the  benefit  of  this  act.  And  so  many  of  them  as  may  have 
been  found  by  the  Governor  and  Secretaiy  to  have  complied  with 
the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  proceed  to  organize  themselves 
into  a  board  to  constitute  the  ' '  Regents  of  the  University  of  the 
State  of  Illinois, ' '  of  which  the  Governor  shall  be  ex-officio  Pres- 
ident, and  the  Secretary  of  State  the  Secretary  of  the  board. 

10.  The  Regents  of  the  University  shall  have  the  power  of 
conferring  the  academic  degrees  usually  conferred  b}^  the  col- 
leges of  this  country,  except  that  of  Bachelor  and  Master  of  Arts 
in  course,  and  degrees  in  Theology  or  Divinity.  They  may  also 
award  premiums  and  bestow  marks  of  honorary  distinction  upon 
successful  teachers,  pupils,  writers,  and  friends  of  popular  edu- 
cation out  of  any  means  placed  at  their  disposal  for  such  pur- 
poses. It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Regents  of  the  University,  at 
their  first  meeting,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable,  and  from 
time  to  time,  to  alter  and  amend  the  same  as  experience  shall 
suggest,  a  course  of  studies  for  the  department  of  popular  in- 
struction, and  to  determine  the  requisite  qualifications  for  admis- 
sion to  this  department,  and  every  student  completing  with  honor 
this  course  of  studies  in  any  college  coming  within  the  provisions 
of  this  act  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  faculty  of  such 


534  History  University  of  Illinois 

college  a  certificate  or  diploma  of  his  having  diligently  and  suc- 
cessfully pursued  the  prescribed  course  of  studies.  The  said 
Regents  shall  also  have  power  to  prescribe  such  other  niles  and 
regulations  for  the  successful  carrying  out  of  the  provisions  of 
this  act  as  to  them  shall  seem  necessary,  not  inconsistent  with  the 
laws  and  constitution  of  this  State. 

11.  All  services  rendered  by  the  Regents  of  the  University 
under  this  act  shall  be  to  the  State  strictly  gratuitous,  except 
those  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  he  shall  only  receive  such 
additional  clerk  hire  as  the  legislature  may  deem  just  to  grant 
him. 

12.  Each  college  president  connected  with  the  University 
shall  make  a  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  annually,  at  least 
one  month  previous  to  the  time  fixed  by  law  for  the  Secretary 
to  report  on  common  schools  to  the  Governor,  stating  the  manner 
in  which  the  college  and  seminary  funds  have  been  appropriated, 
the  number  of  pupils  instracted  gratuitously  in  accordance  with 
this  law,  and  communicating  such  other  information  relative  to 
the  interests  of  popular  education  as  may  be  called  for.  In  case 
any  college  shall  neglect  to  make  such  report  or  shall  in  other  re- 
spects fail  to  perform  the  duties  required  by  this  act,  such  col- 
lege shall  not  thereafter  be  entitled  to  receive  any  portion  of 
the  college  and  seminary  funds  hereby  appro'priated  by  this 
act,  such  failure  to  be  adjudged  by  the  Regents  in  such  manner 
as  shall  be  prescribed  by  such  by-laws  as  shall  be  enacted  by  them. 

13.  Each  college  President  shall  deliver  at  least  five  popu- 
lar lectures  in  each  year,  at  such  points  as  the  Regents  shall 
designate,  on  the  theoiy  and  practice,  or  the  subject  matter  of 
popular  education,  and  co-operate  with  the  Secretaiy  of  State  in 
his  efforts  to  give  popularity  and  efficiency  to  system  of  common 
school  education  established  in  this  State. 

14.  The  annual  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Regents  shall 
be  on  the  second  Monday  in  each  year. 

15.  Each  college  shall  appropriate  at  least  two  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  provided  it  receives  so  much  under  this  act, 
over  and  above  the  salaiy  of  the  professor  of  popular  education, 
in  promoting  a  knowledge  of  agriculture.  Chemistry,  Botany, 
Geology  and  Mineralogy. 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educational  Institution    L)35 

16.  Any  student  who  is  admitted  to  gratuitous  instmction 
in  any  of  the  colleges  under  this  act  may  be  dismissed  from  the 
same  for  incapacity,  inattention  to  study,  violation  of  any  regu- 
lations of  the  institution  made  in  accordance  with  their  charter, 
or  for  any  gross  immorality,  but  not  for  any  denominational 
peculiarities  of  religious  belief  or  form  of  worship. 

17.  The  income  of  the  college  and  seminarj^  funds  appropri- 
ated in  this  act  shall  be  computed  from  the  day  of  the  opening 
of  the  present  session  of  the  General  Assembly. 

This  act  to  take  effect  from  and  after  its  passage. 


Bill  of  1853  proposed  by  the  representatives  of  the  colleges. 
Copy  made  by  G.  L.  Lumsden  and  sent  to  J.  B.  Turner, 
Turner  manuscripts,  Springfield. 

"BILL" 

For  an  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  practical  and 
general  education. 

Wliereby  a  liberal  and  varied  education  of  such  practical 
character  as  to  be  adapted  to  the  wants  of  a  practical  and  enter- 
prising people,  is  a  matter  of  great  public  interest;  and  whereas 
a  provision  for  such  educational  facilities  is  in  manifest  concur- 
rence xvitJi  tJie  intimations  of  the  popular  will,  therefore, 

1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  rep- 
resented in  the  General  Assembly  that  an  amount  equal  to  the 
annual  interest  of  the  College  and  Seminary  fund  shall  be  appro- 
priated equally  to  such  colleges  in  this  State  and  upon  such  con- 
ditions as  are  hereafter  described  in  this  Act. 

2.  No  College  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  a  distributive 
share  of  the  interest  accruing  on  the  said  college  and  seminary 
fund  unless  the  President  and  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  such  college  shall  certify  to  the  Secretary  of  the  State  that 
such  College  is  permanently  established  and  possessed  of  actual 
property  to  the  value  of  not  less  than  $30,000  over  and  above 
all  liabilities  for  scholarships  or  otherwise ;  and  that  such  college 
has  given,  for  at  least  three  years,  the  full  course  of  classical  and 


536  History  University  of  Illinois 

scientific  instruction  usually  required  for  the  first  degree  of  Arts 
in  the  colleges  of  the  United  States,  and  with  such  arrangements 
of  classes  as  is  usual  in  such  Colleges. 

3.  No  college  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  any  money  under 
this  act,  except  upon  the  special  condition  that  the  President 
of  such  College  shall  certify  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  instruc- 
tion is  given  in  the  following  courses  of  study  during  the  year, 
to-wit : 

A  course  of  Instruction  in  Mechanics  Avith  the  theory  of 
forces  applied  to  machineiy,  etc. 

A  course  of  Instruction  in  Practical  Surveying  and  Civil 
Engineering. 

A  course  of  Instruction  in  Agricultural  Chemistry  with  An- 
alysis of  Soils. 

A  course  of  Instruction  in  Geology,  Mineralogy  and  Botany. 

A  course  of  Instruction  in  the  theory  and  Practice  of  Teach- 
ing. 

Together  with  such  other  studies  as  are  usual  in  a  Classical 
and  Scientific  Course. 

4.  Colleges  receiving  moneys  under  this  act  shall  be  open 
to  the  reception  of  all  students  of  good  moral  character,  either 
for  the  prescribed  courses,  or  to  pursue  such  elective  studies  as 
are  provided  for  in  this  act  in  connection  with  classes  arranged 
for  this  purpose,  by  paying  such  rates  of  tuition  and  incidental 
charges  as  shall  be  established  by  such  colleges  severally,  and  by 
conforming  to  College  laws  and  discipline. 

5.  The  Presidents  of  such  Colleges  as  come  within  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  shall  report  semi-annually,  previous  to  the 
first  day  of  January  and  July  of  each  year,  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  certifying  the  number  of  students  in  attendance  in  their 
several  colleges,  the  courses  of  instruction  given,  and  other  neces- 
sary infomiation,  in  blanks  furnished  for  this  purpose  by  the 
Secretary  of  State ;  and  on  evidence  therefrom  that  such  colleges 
severally  have  complied  with  the  conditions  of  this  act,  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  draw  on  the  first  day 
of  January  and  July,  semi-annually,  oti  order  on  ilie  Treasurer  of 


Bills  and  Ads  to  Establish  an  Educational  Instituiion    537 

the  State  for  the  distributive  share  of  the  interest  of  the  College 
and  Seminary  fund,  to  which  such  colleges  respectively  are  en- 
titled under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

6.  Any  college  failing  to  receive  its  distributive  share  of 
the  interest  of  the  College  and  Seminary  fund  in  consequence 
of  neglecting  to  comply  with  the  conditions  of  this  act,  such  share 
shall  be  distributed  equally  among  the  colleges  entitled  to  receive 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

7.  To  prevent  embarrassment  to  colleges  conforming  to  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  a  repeal  of  this  act  shall  not  take  effect 
until  one  year  after  notice  of  such  repeal  has  been  given.  (*  *  *) 
Provided,  however,  that  any  amendment  of  this  act  may  be  made 
which  shall  not  interfere  \nih.  the  disbursements  of  money  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  contained  in  this  act. 

8.  This  Act  shall  take  effect  on  the  1st  day  of  July  next. 


Act  of  1853  (amending  act  of  1852)  to  establish  the  "Illinois 
State  University". 

Private  Laws  of  Illinois,  1853,  p.  425 

In  AN  ACT  to  amend  an  act,  approved  June  21st, 

Force  1852,  and  entitled  "An  act  to  amend  an  act  to 

Feb.  incorporate  a  Literary  and  Theological  Institute 

3,  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  the  Far 

1853  West,  to  be  located  in  Hillsboro,  Montgomery 

County,  Illinois,  approved  January  22d,  1847. ' ' 

Trustees  SECTION  1.    Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of 

the  state  of  Illinois,  represented  in  the  Gerieral 
Assembly,  That  John  T.  Stuart,  James  C.  Conk- 
ling,  Richard  V.  Dodge,  Elijah  lies,  Simeon  W. 
Harkey,  John  M.  Burkhardt,  E.  E.  Wiley, 
Thomas  Lewis,  Jacob  Divelbiss,  David  IMiller, 
John  B.  Weber,  James  Smith,  Albert  Hale,  Fran- 
cis Springer,  Edmund  Miller,  C.  B.  Thumel,  L. 
P.  Esbjorn,  J.  G.  Donmeyer,  N.  J.  Stroh,  Eph- 
raim  Miller,  A.  A.  Trimper,  Conrad  Kuhl,  Elias 


538 


History  University  of  Illinois 


S.  Schwartz,  James  M.  Harkey,  William  Kearns, 
David  Gregory,  Absolom  Cress,  Jacob  Cress,  jr., 
J.  P.  Silly,  Dr.  J.  C.  A.  Seeger  and  Paul  Ander- 
son, being  the  trustees  of  the  Illinois  State  Uni- 
versity, and  their  successors  in  office,  be  and 
they  are  hereb.y  created  a  body  corporate  and 
politic,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  or  main- 
taining, in  or  near  the  city  of  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, an  institution  of  learning,  to  be  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 
and  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  ' '  Illinois  State 
University. ' ' 

Name  2.     Said  corporation  shall  be  known  by  the 

and  Style  name  and  style  of  ' '  The  Board  of  Trustees  of 

Illinois  State  University,"  and  by  that  style  and 
name  remain  and  have  perpetual  succession,  with 
power  to  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be  im- 
pleaded; to  acquire,  hold  and  convey  property, 
real,  personal  and  mixed ;  and  in  all  lawful  ways 
to  have,  use  and  alter  at  pleasure,  a  common  seal ; 
to  make,  alter  and  establish,  from  time  to  time, 
such  constitution,  rules,  by-laws  and  regulations 
as  they  may  deem  necessaiy  for  the  good  govern- 
ment of  said  corporation  and  the  proper  man- 
agement of  the  institution  under  their  control: 
Provided,  such  constitution,  rules,  by-laws  and 
regulations  be  not  inconsistent  with  the  provi- 
sions of  this  act,  and  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  this  state  or  of  the  United  States. 

No.  of  3.    The  number  of  persons  constituting  said 

Trustees  board  of  trustees  shall  never  exceed  thirty-one, 

two-thirds  of  whom  shall  always  be  members  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church.  Said  two- 
thirds  shall  always  be  elected  by  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Synod  of  Illinois,  and  by  such  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Synods  as  may  hereafter  be 
admitted  to  a  participation  in  the  control  of  said 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estdblisli  an  Educational  Institution    539 


institution,  by  a  vote  of  the  synod  named,  and 
the  remaining  one-third  shall  be  elected  by  the 
board  from  among  the  citizens  of  Springfield  and 
vicinity;  said  trustees  not  to  serve  longer  than 
five  years  without  being  re-elected.  Nine  mem- 
bers shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transac- 
tion of  business,  at  any  regular  or  special  meeting 
duly  notified  and  assembled. 

Departments  4.     Said  corporation  may  establish  separate 

departments  of  the  learned  porfessions  of  the 
sciences  and  arts,  including,  besides  the  usual 
departments  of  theolog}%  medicine  and  law,  a 
department  of  mechanical  philosophy,  and  also 
of  agriculture,  and  shall  assign  to  each  depart- 
ment a  competent  faculty  of  instruction:  Pro- 
vided, that  the  instructor  or  instructors,  profes- 
sor or  professors  constituting  the  faculty  of  the- 
ology, shall  always  be  appointed  by  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Synod  aforesaid. 

Certificate  5.     Said  corporation  may  issue  certificates 

of  Scholarship  of  scholarships,  limited  or  perpetual,  upon  such 
terms  as  the  corporation  and  the  persons  con- 
tracting for  the  scholarships  may  agree,  and  the 
benefit  of  said  scholarship  shall  insure  to  the 
holders  thereof,  his  or  her  heirs  or  assigns,  so 
long  as  the  covenants  therein  agreed  to  by  per- 
sons contracting  for  or  lawfully  owning  such 
scholarship  shall  continue  to  be  faithfully  per- 
formed, and  no  longer,  except  at  the  option  of 
the  corporation. 

Faculty  G.     The  professors,  or  a  majority  of  them, 

duly  appointed  in  said  university,  as  provided 
for  in  section  four  of  this  act,  shall  constitute  a 
faculty,  or  may,  at  the  option  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  be  divided  into  several  faculties,  cor- 
responding with  the  several  departments  v/hich 
may  be  established  in  the  institution,  with  power 


540  History  University  of  Illinois 

to  enforce  the  laws,  rules  and  regulations  enacted 
by  the  board  of  trustees  for  the  government  and 
discipline  of  the  students;  to  suspend  or  expel 
such  of  them  as  may,  in  their  judgment,  deserve 
it,  and  to  grant  and  confirm,  by  the  consent  of 
the  board  of  trustees,  such  degrees  in  the  liberal 
arts  and  sciences,  or  such  branches  thereof,  to 
students  and  others  whom,  by  their  proficiency 
in  learning  and  other  meritorious  distinctions, 
they  shall  regard  as  entitled  to  them,  as  it  has 
been  usual  to  grant,  in  the  universities  and  col- 
leges, and  to  grant  to  such  graduates  diplomas 
or  certificates,  under  their  common  seal,  to  au- 
thenticate and  perpetuate  such  graduation. 

Gifts,  etc.  7.     No  misnomer  of  said  corporation  shall 

defeat  or  annul  any  gift,  grant,  bequest  or  devise 
to  or  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  Illinois  State 
University,  or  any  department  thereof:  Pro- 
vided, the  intent  of  the  party  or  parties  making 
such  grant,  gift,  devise  or  bequest  be  sufficiently 
manifest. 

Acts  8.     So  much  of  the  act  to  which  this  an 

repealed.  amendment  as  is  inconsistent  herewith,  is  hereby 

repealed,  but  all  rights  acquired  and  responsi- 
bilities incurred  under  said  acts  are  hereby  pre- 
served. This  act  to  be  in  force  from  and  after 
its  passage. 

Approved  February  3,  1853. 

Act  of  1853  to  incorporate  Northern  Illinois  Agricultural 
College. 

Private  Laws  of  Illinois,  February  12,  1853,  p.  407 

AN  ACT  to  incorporate  the  Northern  Illinois 
Agricultural  College. 
In  SECTION  1.     Be  it  enacted  hy  the  people 

force  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  represented  in  the  Gen- 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educational  Institution    541 


Feb.  12,  eral  Assembly,  That  John  Colvin,  Smiley  Shep- 
1853  ard,  John  Grable,  L.  L,  Bullock,  Lewis  Beck  and 

William  A.  Pennell,  and  their  successors,  be  and 
they  are  hereby  created  a  body  politic  and  cor- 
porate, by  the  name  and  style  of  ' '  The  Northern 
Illinois  Agricultural  College, ' '  and  by  that  name 
and  style  to  remain  and  have  perpetual  succes- 
sion.   The  institution  shall  remain  and  be  per- 

Style  manently  located  within  the  limits  of  Putnam 

County,  at  such  place  as  shall  be  determined  here- 

Location  after  by  the   stockholdei^ :     Provided,  that  it 

shall  require  a  majority  of  all  the  stockholders 
to  determine  such  place  or  location. 

Trustees  2.     For  the  present,  the  aforesaid  individu- 

als shall  constitute  the  board  of  trustees  for  said 
institution. 

Objects  3.     The  object  of  said  corporation  shall  be 

the  promotion  of  the  general  interests  of  agri- 
cultural and  mechanical  education,  and  to  qual- 
ify students  to  engage  in  the  several  pursuits 
and  employments  of  society,  and  to  discharge 
honorably  and  usefully  the  various  duties  of  life. 

Corporate  4.     The   corporate  powers   hereby  created 

powers  shall  be  such  only  as  are  essential  or  useful  in 

the  attainments  of  said  object,  and  such  as  are 
usually  conferred  on  similar  bodies  corporate, 
viz:  to  have  perpetual  succession,  to  make  con- 
tracts, to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  plead  and  be  im- 
pleaded, to  grant  and  receive  by  its  corporate 
name,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  the  same  as  natural 
persons ;  to  accept,  acquire,  purchase  or  sell  pro- 
perty, real,  personal,  or  mixed,  in  all  lawful 
ways,  to  use,  employ,  manage  and  dispose  of  all 
such  property  and  money  belonging  to  said  cor- 
poration, in  such  manner  as  shall  seem  to  the 
trustees  best  adapted  to  promote  the  objects 
aforementioned,  and  to  have  a  common  seal,  and 


542 


History  University  of  Illinois 


Course 
of  Studies. 


Appoint 
Officers 


Erect 
Buildings 


Remove 
Tinistee 


to  alter  the  same  at  pleasure ;  to  make  such  by- 
laws for  its  regulation  as  shall  not  conflict  with 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States 
or  of  this  state,  and  to  confer  on  such  persons 
as  may  be  considered  worthy  such  academical 
and  honorary  degrees  as  the  nature  and  title  of 
the  institution  indicate. 

5.  The  trustees  of  the  corporation  shall 
have  authority  from  time  to  time  to  prescribe  and 
regulate  the  course  of  studies  to  be  pursued  in 
said  institution,  and  in  the  preparatory  depart- 
ments attached  thereto ;  to  fix  the  rate  of  tuition, 
room  rent  and  college  expenses;  to  appoint  in- 
structors and  such  other  officers  and  agents  as 
may  be  necessary  in  managing  the  concerns  of 
the  institution,  to  define  their  powers,  duties  and 
employments,  to  fix  their  compensation,  to  dis- 
place and  remove  either  of  the  instnictors,  offi- 
cers or  agents  as  said  trustees  shall  deem  to  the 
interest  of  said  institution  to  require ;  to  fill  all 
vacancies  among  said  instructors,  officers  and 
agents;  to  purchase  lands,  erect  suitable  build- 
ings, to  purchase  books  and  chemical  and  philo- 
sophical apparatus,  and  other  suitable  means  of 
instruction ;  to  put  in  operation  a  system  of  man- 
ual labor  for  the  purpose  of  lessening  the  ex- 
penses of  education  and  promoting  the  health  of 
the  students,  and  to  add,  as  the  ability  of  said  in- 
stitution shall  increase  and  the  interest  of  the 
community  shall  require,  additional  depart- 
ments for  the  study  of  the  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical arts  on  scientific  principles. 

6.  The  trustees  shall  have  power  to  remove 
any  trustee  from  his  office  of  trustee  for  any  dis- 
honorable or  criminal  conduct:  Provided,  that 
no  such  removal  shall  take  place  Avithout  giving 
to  such  trustee  notice  of  the  charges  exhibited 
against  him,  and  an  opportunity  to  defend  him- 


Bills  (Did  Acts  to  Establish  an  Educational  Institution    543 


self  before  the  board,  nor  unless  two-thirds  of  the 
v/hole  number  of  trustees  shall  concur  in  such  re- 
moval. The  trustees  shall  also  have  power,  in 
case  of  a  removal  from  office,  death,  i-esignation, 
Fill  or  a  removal  out  of  the  state,  of  any  of  their  num- 

Vacancy  bcr,  to  fill  such  vacancy  occasioned  by  such  re- 

moval, death,  resignation,  or  removal  out  of  the 
state,  to  serve  until  the  next  annual  election  to 
be  held  as  hereinafter  provided.  A  majority  of 
trustees  shall  be  sufficient  to  constitute  a  quorum 
to  do  business. 

Capital  7.     This  corporation  shall  have  power  and 

Stock  authority  to  raise  a  capital  stock,  in  shares  of 

fifty  dollars  each,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  such  sums  as  may 
be  given  by  donation,  bequest,  or  otherwise,  to 
be  used  as  a  college  fund,  and  devoted  exclus- 
ively to  the  purposes  of  education,  and  that  so 
soon  as  two  hundred  shares  or  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars of  said  stock  shall  be  subscribed,  the  stock- 
holders will  be  hereby  authorized  to  organize  and 
locate  said  institution. 

Application  8.     The  trustees  shall  faithfully  apply  all 

of  funds.  funds  by  them  collected,  or  to  be  collected  here- 

after, according  to  their  best  judgment,  in  pur- 
chasing lands,  erecting  suitable  buildings,  in 
supporting  the  necessary  instructors,  officers, 
and  agents,  in  procuring  books,  maps,  charts, 
globes,  philosophical  and  chemical  apparatus  nec- 
essary to  aid  in  the  promotion  of  sound  learning 
Proviso  in  the  institution :    Provided,  that  in  case  of  any 

donation,  devise  or  bequest  shall  be  made  for 
particular  purposes,  accordant  with  the  objects 
of  the  institution,  and  the  trustees  shall  accept 
the  same,  every  such  donation,  devise  or  bequest 
shall  be  applied  in  conformity  with  the  express 
condition  of  the  donor  or  devisor :  Provided,  also, 
that  lands  donated  or  devised  as  aforesaid  shall 


544 


History  University  of  Illinois 


be  sold  or  disposed  of  as  required  by  the  four- 
teenth section  of  this  act. 

Process  9.     The  treasurer  of  said  institution,  always, 

and  all  other  agents  when  required  by  the  trus- 
tees, before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  their  ap- 
pointment, shall  give  bonds  for  the  security  of 
the  corporation  in  such  penal  sum  and  with  such 
securities  as  the  board  of  trustees  shall  approve, 
and  all  process  against  the  said  corporation  shall 
be  by  summons,  and  sendee  of  the  same  shall  be 
by  leaving  an  attested  copy  with  the  treasurer  of 
said  institution  at  least  thirty  days  before  the 
return  day  thereof. 

No.  of  10.     The  trustees  of  said  institution  shall  not 

Trustees  exceed  six,  exclusive  of  the  president,  principal, 

or  presiding  officer  of  said  institution,  who  shall 

be  ex-officio  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

Said  trustees  shall  be  elected  annually  on  the 

third  Thursday  in  October,  at  such  place  within 

the  county  of  Putnam,  and  under  the  direction 

Time  of  of  such  persons  as  a  majority  of  the  trustees  for 

Election  the  time  being  shall  appoint,  by  a  resolution  to 

be  entered  on  their  minutes. 

11.  All  elections  shall  be  by  ballot,  and 
may  be  given  in  person  or  by  proxy,  allowing  one 
vote  to  each  share  of  the  capital  stock,  and  such 
persons  at  said  election  having  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  votes,  shall  be  trustees  of  said  institution ; 
and  if  at  any  election  any  two  or  more  out  of  the 
six  who  have  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall 
have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  so  as  to  leave 
their  election  undecided,  then  the  trustees  who 
have  been  duly  elected  shall  proceed  by  ballot, 
and  by  a  plurality  determine  which  of  said  per- 
sons so  having  an  equal  number  of  votes  shall 
be  trustee  or  trustees,  so  as  to  complete  the  whole 
number. 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educatiomil  Institution    545 


President  and  12.     The  trastees  shall  elect  a  president  and 

Secretary  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees  from  among 

their  own  body,  and  also  appoint  some  suitable 
person  the  treasurer  of  said  institution  to  serve 
for  the  term  of  one  year,  and  until  his  successor 
shall  be  appointed. 

Open  to  all  13.     The  said  institution  and  its  prepara- 

denominations  tory  departments  shall  be  open  to  all  denomin- 
of  Christians,  ations  of  christians,  and  the  profession  of  any 
particular  religious  faith  shall  not  be  required 
of  those  who  become  students.  All  persons,  how- 
ever, who  are  idle  or  vicious,  or  whose  characters 
are  immoral,  may  be  suspended  or  expelled. 

Property  14,     The   lands,    tenements    and    heredita- 

ments to  be  held  in  perpetuity  in  virtue  of  this 
act  by  this  corporation  shall   not  exceed  one 

Proviso  thousand  acres :    Provided,  liowever,  that  if  do- 

nations, grants,  or  devises  in  lands  shall  from 
time  to  time  be  made  to  this  corporation,  over 
and  above  one  thousand  acres,  which  may  be  held 
in  perpetuity,  as  aforesaid,  the  same  may  be  re- 
ceived and  held  by  such  corporation  for  the  pe- 
riod of  ten  years  from  the  date  of  every  such 
donation,  grant,  or  devise ;  at  the  end  of  which 
time,  if  the  said  lands,  over  and  above  the  one 
thousand  acres,  shall  not  have  been  sold  by  the 
said  corporation,  then  and  in  that  case,  the  said 
lands  so  donated,  granted  or  devised  shall  re- 
vert to  the  donor,  grantor,  or  the  heirs  of  the 
devisor  of  the  same,  if  the  donor,  grantor,  or 
the  heirs  of  the  same  shall  so  demand. 

Exempt  from  15.     All  the  real  and  personal  estate  bclong- 

Taxation.  ing  to  or  belong  to  said  corporation  shall  be 

exempted  from  taxation  for  any  and  all  pur- 
poses whatever. 

Approved  February  12,  1853, 


546  History  Universiiy  of  Illinois 

Bill  proposed  by  agriculturists  1855  and  i-cport  of  a  special 
committee  of  the  Senate  to  whom  the  bill  was  referred. 

Illinois  School  Reports,  1855-56 

A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT  TO  INCORPORATE  ''THE  TRUS- 
TEES OF  THE  ILLINOIS  UNIVERSITY." 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  tlie  people  of  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois represented  in  the  General  Assemhly,  That  J.  B.  Turner, 
Bronson  Murray,  John  A.  Kennicott,  Urial  Mills,  H.  C.  Johns, 
and  William  A.  Pennell,  with  their  associates  (to  be  elected  as 
hereinafter  provided),  and  their  successors,  be,  and  they  are 
hereby  created  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  to  be  styled  "The 
Trustees  of  the  Illinois  University,"  and  by  that  name  and  style 
shall  have  perpetual  succession,  and  have  power  to  contract  and 
be  contracted  with,  to  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded, 
to  acquire,  hold  and  convey  property,  both  real  and  personal,  to 
have  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  to  alter  the  same  at  pleasure ; 
to  make  and  establish  such  by-laws,  and  repeal  or  alter  the  same 
at  pleasure,  as  they  shall  deem  necessary  for  the  government  of 
the  institution  hereby  authorized  to  be  established  or  any  of  its 
departments,  officers,  students  or  servants,  not  in  conflict  with 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  state,  or  of  the  United  States ; 
and  to  have,  use  and  exercise  all  other  powers  usual  and  incident 
to  trustees  of  such  institutions. 

OF  TRUSTEES  AND  OFFICERS. 

2.  The  six  tiiistecs  above  named  shall  have  power  to  fill 
vacancies  in  their  own  number  in  perpetual  succession. 

3.  In  addition  to  the  six  trustees  above  named  there  shall 
be  six  other  trustees  elected  by  the  people,  two  of  whom  shall  be 
elected  by  the  electors  of  each  judicial  grand  division  of  the 
state,  and  shall  be  elected  at  the  time  of  the  election  of  the  judges 
of  the  circuit  court,  sextennially ;  and  the  board  of  trustees  thus 
constituted  shall  have  power  to  fill  all  vacancies  of  those  thus 
elected  by  the  people  occurring  by  death,  resignation,  removal 
from  the  state,  or  otherwise ;  and  the  person  or  persons  thus 
appointed  shall  hold  his  or  their  office  until  the  next  regular 


Bills  and  Acts  to  EstahlisJi  an  Educational  Institution    547 

election  and  until  his  or  their  successor  shall  be  elected  and 
qualified.  At  said  judicial  elections  polls  shall  be  opened  in  the 
several  places  of  voting  throughout  the  state,  for  the  election 
of  said  trastees ;  and  the  electors  in  each  grand  judicial  division 
may  vote  for  two  trustees ;  and  the  poll  book  shall  be  kept,  certi- 
fied and  returned,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  vote  and  poll  books 
for  the  election  of  judges;  and  the  several  county  clerks  shall 
make  return  of  the  elections  of  their  several  counties  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  are  required  to  do  in  the  case  of  circuit  judges; 
and  the  same  shall  be  certified  by  the  proper  officers,  and  two 
persons  having  the  highest  number  of  votes  of  each  grand  di- 
vision shall  be  declared  elected. 

4.  The  board  of  trustees  shall  elect  a  president  of  the  in- 
stitution, who  shall  also,  ex-officio,  be  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees;  and  in  his  absence,  or  in  case  of  vacancy  in  his  onice, 
the  next  highest  officer  of  the  faculty  of  the  institution  shall 
be  ex-officio  president  of  the  board  of  trustees;  and  the  acting 
president  shall  have  the  casting  vote. 

5.  The  board  of  trustees  shall  appoint  a  treasurer  of  the 
corporation,  who  shall  be  the  keeper  of  the  funds  and  moneys 
of  the  corporation,  and  shall  give  a  bond  to  the  board  in  such 
sum  as  shall  be  fixed  by  the  board  or  by  lav/,  conditioned  for  the 
faithful  performance  of  his  duties ;  and  such  treasurer  shall  be 
removable  by  the  board ;  and  the  board  or  the  general  assembly 
may  require  the  said  treasurer  to  give  a  new  bond,  or  furnish 
additional  security,  whenever  it  shall  be  deemed  necessary ;  and 
if  any  new  or  additional  duty  shall  be  required  of  the  treasurer 
during  his  continuance  in  office  it  shall  not  release  the  securities 
from  their  liability  on  the  bond,  but  any  one  or  more  of  the 
sureties  may  at  any  time  be  released  from  any  further  future 
liability  by  giving  notice  to  the  board  that  he  or  they  will  not 
longer  be  and  stand  surety  upon  the  said  bond ;  and  the  board 
shall  thereupon  require  additional  and  further  satisfactory 
surety;  and  in  case  of  the  neglect  of  the  treasurer  to  comply 
with  such  requirement  the  board  shall  proceed  as  soon  as  may 
be  to  appoint  some  other  person  treasurer  in  his  stead.  The 
treasurer  shall  be  elected  annually  at  such  times  as  shall  be  fixed 
by  the  by-laws,  and  unless  removed,  shall  hold  his  office  for  one 
year,  and  until  his  successor  shall  b(  elected  and  qualified. 


548  History  University  of  Illinois 

6.  No  trustee  shall  receive  any  compensation  for  attending 
the  meetings  of  the  board,  except  his  necessary  traveling  ex- 
penses ;  and  for  incompetency,  neglect  or  the  abuse  of  the  privi- 
leges or  duties  of  his  office,  every  tinistee  may  be  questioned  by 
any  citizen  of  this  state.  The  proceedings  in  such  case  to  be  by 
writ  of  quo  warranto  or  other  proper  proceedings  before  any 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction;  the  penalty  to  be  the  vacation 
of  the  office. 

7.  No  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  shall  be  a  professor 
or  officer  of  the  faculty  of  the  institution,  nor  contractor  for 
the  erection  of  any  of  the  buildings  of  the  institution. 

8.  At  all  stated  and  regularly  called  meetings  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  seven  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

9.  The  board  shall  annually  appoint  a  secretary,  who  shall 
hold  the  office  for  one  year  and  till  his  successor  shall  be  ap- 
pointed and  qualified ;  and  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  keep  a  full  and 
fair  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board,  which  shall  ahvays 
be  open  to  inspection  by  the  board  or  any  member  thereof ;  and 
said  record  shall  be  evidence  of  the  facts  therein  stated  and  con- 
tained in  all  events  whatsoever. 

LOCATION  OF  INSTITUTION. 

10.  The  institution  shall  be  located  by  the  board  of  trustees 
in  some  central  portion  of  the  state,  having  reference  to  facilities 
of  access  as  well  as  to  geographical  position.  In  making  the  loca- 
tion the  trustees  shall  take  into  account  the  best  interests  of  the 
state  and  of  the  institution ;  and  no  member  of  the  board  shall 
give  a  vote  in  favor  of  the  county  where  he  shall  then  reside. 

OBJECTS  OF  THE  INSTITUTION. 

11.  The  object  of  the  institution  shall  be  to  impart  instruc- 
tion in  all  departments  of  useful  knowledge,  science,  and  art, 
commencing  with  those  departments  now  most  needed  by  the 
citizens  of  the  state,  to-wit: 

1st.  A  teachers'  seminary,  or  a  normal  school  department, 
for  the  improvement  and  education  of  common  school  teachers. 


Bills  and  Acts  to  EstahlisJi  an  Educational  Institution    549 

2d.  An  agricultural  department,  for  the  benefit  and 
instruction  of  farmers  and  the  sons  of  farmers,  and  of  all  others 
interested  in  the  science  or  arts  of  agriculture  and  horticulture. 

3d.  A  mechanical  department,  for  the  benefit  and  instruc- 
tion of  mechanics  and  the  sons  of  mechanics,  and  of  all  others 
interested  in  and  desirous  of  acquiring  knowledge  of  architectural 
and  mechanical  science  and  the  mechanic  arts,  and  the  use  and 
application  of  mechanical  power. 

To  these  departments  others  may  be  added  from  time  to  time, 
as  the  wants  of  the  people  may  require,  and  the  funds  and  means 
of  the  institution  will  justify,  so  that  finally  the  university  may 
become  a  place  of  resort  for  acquiring  an  accomplished  and  fin- 
ished education  in  all  useful,  practical,  literary,  and  scientific 
knowledge. 

FUNDS. 

12.  For  the  endowment  of  the  university,  three  separate 
funds  shall  be  created  and  applied  to  carry  out  and  promote 
the  objects  of  the  institution,  to-wit : 

1st.  A  donation  fund,  to  consist  of  moneys  to  be  raised  from 
private  resources,  through  the  aid  and  instinimentality  of  the 
six  trustees  first  above  named ;  and  the  acceptance  of  this  charter 
shall  make  it  the  duty  of  those  six  trustees  to  raise  or  obtain 
at  least  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  this  fund ;  and  the  corpora- 
tion shall  not  be  entitled  to  have  or  receive  any  money  or  funds 
from  the  state  until  the  said  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
shall  be  obtained  and  secured,  either  in  money  or  negotiable 
paper  or  other  property,  for  the  benefit  of  the  institution. 

2d.  A  seminary  or  normal  school  fund,  to  consist  of  the 
present  seminary  fund  of  the  state,  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to 
the  seminary  or  normal  school  department,  of  which  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  may  be  used,  appropriated,  and  expended  in 
the  erection  of  buildings,  and  obtaining  a  suitable  apparatus, 
library,  and  so  forth;  and  the  residue  of  said  seminary  fund 
shall  be  reserved,  and  the  interest  or  income  thereof  shall  be 
applied  to  the  support  of  professors  and  teachers,  and  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  seminary  or  normal  school  department. 


550  History  University  of  Illinois 

3d.  An  university  fund,  to  consist  of  the  college  or  uni- 
versity fund  of  this  state,  to  be  used  for  the  benefit  and  interest 
of  the  university,  on  the  following  conditions,  to-wit : 

1st.  So  soon  as  the  six  trastecs  above  named,  by  themselves 
or  others,  shall  have  secured  the  twenty-thousand  dollars  above 
named,  in  donations  or  otherwise,  for  the  benefit  and  use  of  the 
institution,  the  treasurer  of  the  state  shall  pay  to  the  treasurer 
of  the  board,  twenty  thousand  dollars  from  the  college  or  univer- 
sity fund  of  this  state,  for  the  use  of  the  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical department. 

2d.  When  the  six  trustees  first  above  named  shall  have  so 
secured  and  obtained  one  or  more  additional  sums,  to  the  amount 
of  at  least  ten  thousand  dollars  each,  such  a  like  sum  shall  be  paid 
over  by  the  state  treasurer,  out  of  the  college  or  seminary  fund, 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  so  on  in  sums  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  or  more,  until  the  trustees  shall  have  so 
obtained  or  secured  a  sum  total  or  amount  equal  to  the  whole 
college  or  seminary  fund  of  this  state. 

13.  The  expenses  of  all  agricultural  and  horticultural  ex- 
periments made  and  prosecuted  by  the  institution,  shall  be  paid 
out  of  the  donation  fund  herein  provided  for;  and  in  no  case 
shall  the  funds  supplied  by  the  state  be  paid  out  for  any  experi- 
mental process,  but  only  for  ordinary  instruction  usual  in  educa- 
tional universities,  and  in  such  courses  of  study  and  instructions 
as  shall  be  fixed  and  adopted  by  the  tiTistees  and  government  of 
the  institution. 

14.  Any  future  appropriations  of  money  or  lands  that  shall 
be  made  by  congress  to  this  state,  in  accordance  with  the  memo- 
rials and  petitions  of  the  Illinois  league,  as  published  in  the  re- 
port of  said  league,  for  the  promotion  of  industrial  education 
and  art,  shall  be,  and  hereby  are  appropriated  and  set  apart  to 
the  use  and  trust  of  the  corporation  herein  created,  to  be  used 
in  promoting  the  general  object  and  purposes  of  the  university. 

15.  The  board  of  trustees  are  hereby  vested  with  full  power 
to  appoint  and  assign  the  duties  of  all  officers  of  instruction 
in  the  university,  and  to  provide  by  by-lav/s  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  all  such  other  officers,  servants,  and  employers,  as  shall 
be  deemed  by  the  said  board  of  trustees  requisite  for  the  faithful 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Establish  an  Educational  Institution    551 

execution  of  the  trust  reposed  in  them  by  this  act,  and  shall  more 
effectually  accomplish  and  carry  out  the  objects  and  purposes 
of  the  institution. 

16.  This  act  and  all  grants  and  appropriations  herein  pro- 
vided for,  shall  cease  and  be  void,  unless  this  act  with  its  several 
provisions,  shall  be  accepted  by  the  above  named  corporators, 
within  sixty  days  from  the  time  of  the  adjournment  of  this 
general  assembly ;  and  this  act  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  public 
law,  and  to  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 


REPORT 

OF  THE 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  SENATE 
TO  WHOM  WAS  REFERRED  THE  BILL  TO  INCORPO- 
RATE THE  ILLINOIS  UNIVERSITY 

The  special  committee  of  the  senate  of  the  state  of  Illinois, 
to  whom  Avas  referred  the  bill  to  incorporate  the  Illinois  Univer- 
sity, would  respectfully  report : 

In  education,  as  in  all  other  subjects,  there  are  certain  truths 
that  are  self-evident ;  or  at  least  so  nearly  so  that  they  are  ad- 
mitted as  axioms  by  all  men  at  all  acquainted  with  the  subject. 

One  of  these  self-evident  propositions  is,  that  the  teacher 
must  exist  before  the  scholar  can  be  taught,  and  that  therefore 
the  teacher  is  not  only  the  foundation,  but  the  only  motive 
power,  the  life  and  light  of  the  whole  system. 

Whoever,  therefore,  would  begin  at  the  foundation  of  any 
system  of  public  instruction,  must  begin  by  providing  the  means 
for  furnishing  the  requisite  supply  of  competent  teachers,  and 
without  these,  it  is  equally  self-evident  that  any  system  of  com- 
mon school  instruction,  however,  wise  in  its  laws  and  details, 
however  ample  in  its  expenditures  prolonged  in  its  sessions,  or 
free  and  accessible  to  both  rich  and  poor,  will  prove  only  an 
onerous  and  useless  tax  on  the  one,  and  a  waste  of  time,  if  not 
a  positive  nuisance,  to  the  other. 

This  great  fact  has  been  admitted  and  acted  upon,  not  only 
by  all  practical  educators  and  conventions  of  teachers,  but  by 


552  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  legislation  of  every  free  state,  and  in  every  act  of  congress 
providing  for  the  means  of  education  in  the  several  states. 

The  universities  and  higher  schools  of  Europe,  and  of  the 
older  states  of  this  continent,  were  founded  long  before  any 
attempt  was  made  at  a  thorough  system  of  common  schools,  and 
through  them,  teachers  were  prepared  to  descend  into  and  create 
and  insti-uct  all  departments  below;  and  if  any  state  ever  can 
secure  a  good  system  of  common  schools  for  all  the  people,  by 
any  other  process,  it  is  quite  certain  no  one  ever  yet  has  done 
it,  nor  is  it  easy  to  see  or  even  imagine  how  it  can  be  done. 

In  accordance  with  this  view,  and  in  distinct  recognition 
of  this  great  fundamental  truth  or  fact,  congress  granted  to  each 
of  the  new  states  of  the  west,  three  separate  and  distinct  funds. 

1st.     A  university  fund. 

2nd.  A  seminary  fund. 

3rd.    A  common  school  fund. 

The  first  to  supply  the  teachers  of  the  second,  the  second 
of  the  last.  Well  knowing  that  the  experience  of  the  civilized 
world  has  as  fully  demonstrated  the  mutual  necessity  of  these 
three  departments  of  education  as  it  has  of  the  three  departments 
of  civil  government  in  a  free  state. 

It  is  believed  that  no  state  but  our  own  has  ever  attempted 
to  reverse  this  decision  of  law  and  this  necessity  of  experience 
and  it  would  seem  from  the  report  of  our  superintendents  of 
public  instruction,  as  well  as  from  all  other  sources  of  informa- 
tion, that  our  success  so  far  in  this  enterprise  is,  to  say  the  least, 
not  very  flattering.  For  while  the  state  is  utterly  destitute  of  a 
competent  supply  of  even  tolerable  common  school  teachers,  it 
would  seem  to  be  utterly  impracticable  for  the  people  to  agree 
either  upon  any  plan  of  supplying  the  defect  or  of  enacting  any 
system  of  laws  which  are  likely  to  make  the  want  more  endur- 
able or  the  system  more  efficient  than  it  is. 

To  supply  this  radical  defect  in  our  whole  system,  and  this 
great  want  of  our  whole  people,  we  understand  to  be  the  first 
aim  of  the  Illinois  University  and  of  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  educational  convention,  whose  names  appear  by  their  ap- 
pointment in  the  bill  for  a  charter  now  before  your  committee. 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educational  Institution    553 

We  understand,  also,  that  every  convention  of  practical 
teachers,  held  in  the  state  for  several  years  past,  however  divided 
on  other  questions,  have  given  it  as  their  unanimous  opinions  that 
the  first  indispensable  step  towards  the  regeneration  of  our  com- 
mon school  system  was  the  institution  of  a  normal  school  or  sem- 
inary in  some  way  for  the  supply  of  a  greater  number  of  more 
competent  teachers,  and  that  mthout  this  nothing  effectual  could 
be  done  for  our  common  school  system. 

The  second  object  proposed  is  to  supply  a  want  equally 
obvious,  though  perhaps  not  equally  pressing  and  urgent,  the 
diffusion  of  practical  knowledge  among  our  industrial  classes, 
by  the  endowment  of  departments  for  the  use  of  their  profes- 
sions, and  on  the  same  principles  as  departments  are  endowed 
for  other  professions  in  our  own  state. 

It  is  believed  by  many  intelligent  men,  that  by  the  proper 
diffusion,  through  such  means  of  knowledge  already  existing,  we 
might  add  a  sa\'ing  of  from  one-fourth  to  one-half,  to  the  profits 
of  the  labor  now  employed  in  these  pursuits  while  we  might  save 
an  equal  amount  in  the  materials  wasted  or  misused  in  all  our 
mechanic  arts,  and  especially  in  the  architecture  of  houses, 
bridges,  and  other  structures,  where  this  present  waste  of  mate- 
rial is  rapidly  exhausting  one  of  our  most  scarce  and  valuable 
natural  resources,  the  timber  of  our  forests.  They  believe  that 
the  minds  of  at  least  a  large  portion  of  the  youth  of  our  state 
may  be  developed  and  disciplined  as  well  and  as  fully,  while 
turned  towards  these  important  and  practical  subjects  pertain- 
ing to  agriculture,  mechanics,  civil  engineering,  architecture,  etc., 
as  when  directed  to  other  pursuits,  and  without  interfering  with 
any  other  interest  or  institution  whatever,  except  to  give  addi- 
tional patronage,  success,  and  power  to  all  alike ;  and  experience 
proves  that  no  other  system  of  education  proposed  to  our  citi- 
zens has  ever  been  equally  efficient  in  arousing  the  attention  of 
those  great  classes,  and  concentrating  their  minds  and  efforts, 
with  interest  and  with  power  around  the  entire  educational  inter- 
ests of  the  state,  which  is  another  great  necessity  to  any  efficient 
system  of  free  schools  in  a  free  state. 

The  general  plan  of  this  institution,  so  far  as  its  theory  of 
instruction  is  concerned,  is  based  upon  the  same  principles  as 
were  commended  and  adopted  by  President  Wayland  of  Brown 


554  History  University  of  Illinois 

University;  President  Hitchcock  of  Amherst  College;  Prof. 
Henry  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  and  many  other  distin- 
guished scholars ;  and  have  since  been  incorporated  into  several 
colleges  in  New  York  and  other  states,  and  laid  at  the  foundation 
of  the  Farmers'  College  in  Ohio,  one  of  the  largest  institutions 
west  of  the  mountains,  and  more  recently  adopted  by  the  univer- 
sities of  Missouri  and  Michigan. 

Says  President  Tappan,  who  presides  over  the  latter  uni- 
versity, in  a  recent  letter  to  one  of  the  members  of  the  proposed 
board : 

* '  The  question  is  a  good  deal  discussed  in  our  state,  whether 
a  distinct  agricultural  school  shall  be  established,  or  whether 
it  shall  be  connected  with  the  university.  My  hope  is  that  you 
will  proceed  to  establish  a  university;  whether  you  proceed  to 
the  one  or  the  other,  I  conceive  that  a  model  farm  is  of  the  great- 
est importance.  I  am  very  anxious  to  have  one  established  in 
connection  with  the  university  of  Michigan.  The  great  point  is 
to  make  the  people  see  this  simple  fact  that  the  university  is  as 
truly  a  popular  institution  as  the  common  school.  We  ought  to 
begin  with  the  highest  institution;  neither  knowledge  or  water 
run  up  hill. ' ' 

Dr.  Cutter,  author  of  the  books  bearing  his  name,  which 
are  recommended  by  our  state  superintendent,  in  a  similar  letter, 
says  in  reference  to  this  institution,  January  8th,  last : 

"I  endorse  the  principles  fully,  yes  more,  I  will  add  my 
mite  to  the  efforts  for  the  practical  endowment  of  the  same, 
east,  west,  north  and  south.  I  feel  that  success  in  this  matter 
is  only  a  question  of  time.  Let  there  be  a  new  institution  created, 
so  that  there  be  no  conservative  impediments  to  its  free  and  full 
operation.  I  beg  make  a  model  new  institution  in  central  Illinois ; 
ask  no  less  than  this,  accept  no  less  than  this. ' ' 

The  bill  proposing  these  advantages,  is  guarded  in  its  pro- 
visions, and  moderate  in  its  demands. 

Ist.  It  guards  the  institution  from  that  political  or  partisan 
control,  which  has  proved  the  destruction  of  so  many  state  in- 
stitutions. 

2nd.  In  rejecting  this  principle  of  almost  universal  failure, 
it  adopts  the  principle  which  has  in  all  states  proved  as  almost 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Establish  an  Educational  Institution    555 

uniformly,  successful  and  efficient,  viz:  The  alliance  of  state 
patronage,  encouragement  and  control  with  private  enterprise, 
interest  and  skill. 

3rd.  The  control  given  to  the  state  is  in  the  broadest  sense 
republican  and  democratic,  that  is,  it  rests  wholly  with  the 
people,  who  have  equal  power  to  check  or  direct  its  action. 

1st.     Through  the  trustees  they  elect. 

2nd.  By  refusing  to  subscribe  to  its  funds,  and  thus  stop- 
ping at  once,  all  further  drafts  upon  the  public  funds. 

3rd.  By  civil  process  in  the  courts  of  law,  open  to  any 
citizen. 

The  demand  of  the  bill  so  far  as  the  state  is  concerned,  is 
simply  that  the  college  and  seminaiy  fund  of  the  state  shall  be 
restored  to  the  original  and  lawful  use,  to  which  the  wisdom  of 
congress,  the  donors,  assigned  it,  and  to  which  the  teachers  and 
more  advanced  pupils  of  the  state,  as  the  cestui  que  trust  have 
an  equitable  right  to  demand  its  application,  leaving  the  common 
school  and  all  other  funds  to  remain  as  they  are.  As  an  induce- 
ment to  such  a  restoration  they  propose  to  raise  by  private  sub- 
scription, equal  amounts  of  ten  thousand  dollars  each,  before 
each  installment  of  ten  thousand  dollars  is  paid  over  by  the 
state,  thus  preventing  the  probability  if  not  the  possibility  of  any 
needless  waste  or  extravagance  in  the  use  of  the  funds  of  the  state. 

From  the  brief  consideration  which  your  committee  have 
been  able  to  give  this  subject,  they  feel  that  it  is  well  worthy  of 
the  most  grave  and  serious  attention  of  the  legislature  and  of  the 
people,  both  in  its  relations  to  the  future  well  being  of  our  com- 
mon and  other  schools,  and  all  the  educational,  industrial,  and  vi- 
tal interests  of  our  state.  Were  it  at  an  earlier  stage  of  the  session, 
your  committee  would  unhesitatingly  recommend  the  adoption 
of  this  bill  in  all  its  essential  features,  but  the  absolute  want 
of  the  time  which  would  be  necessary  to  discuss  and  perfect  so 
important  a  measure,  constrains  us  to  recommend  that  this  bill 
and  report  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  senate  and  distribution 
among  the  people,  and  that  the  consideration  of  the  bill  itself 
should  be  postponed  to  another  session. 

GEORGE  GAGE 
JOHN  D.  ARNOLD 
JOSEPH  MORTON. 


556  History  University  of  Illinois 

Act  of  1857  creating  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

Laws  of  IlUriois  1857 ; 
approved  Febi-uary  18. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  Assembly:  That  C.  B.  Denio, 
of  Jo  Daviess  county,  Simeon  Wright,  of  Lee  county,  Daniel 
"VVilkins,  of  McLean  county,  C.  E.  Hovey,  of  Peoria  county, 
George  P.  Rex,  of  Pike  county,  Samuel  W.  Moulton,  of  Shelby 
county,  John  Gillespie,  of  Jasper  county,  George  Bunsen,  of 
St.  Clair  county,  Wesley  Sloan,  of  Pope  county,  Ninian  W. 
Edwards,  of  Sangamon  county,  John  Eden,  of  Moultrie  county, 
Flavel  Mosley,  of  Cook  county,  William  H.  Wells,  of  Cook  county, 
Albert  R.  Shannon,  of  White  county,  and  the  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction,  ex-offieio,  with  their  associates,  who  shall 
be  elected  as  herein  provided,  and  their  successors,  are  hereby 
created  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  to  be  styled  ''The  Board 
of  Education  of  the  State  of  Illinois,"  and  by  that  name  and 
style  shall  have  perpetual  succession,  and  have  power  to  contract 
and  be  contracted  with,  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  plead  and  be  im- 
pleaded, to  acquire,  hold  and  convey  real  and  personal  property ; 
to  have  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  to  alter  the  same  at  pleasure ; 
to  make  and  establish  by-laws,  and  alter  or  repeal  the  same  as 
they  shall  deem  necessary  for  the  government  of  the  normal  uni- 
versity hereby  authorized  to  be  established,  not  in  conflict  with 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States; 
and  to  have  and  exercise  all  powers,  and  be  subjected  to  all  duties 
usual  and  incident  to  trustees  of  corporations. 

2.  The  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  by  virtue  of 
his  office,  shall  be  a  member  and  secretary  of  said  board,  and 
shall  report  to  the  legislature  at  its  regular  sessions  the  condition 
and  expenditures  of  said  normal  university,  and  communicate 
such  further  information  as  the  said  board  of  education  or  the 
legislature  may  direct. 

3.  No  member  of  the  board  of  education  shall  receive  any 
compensation  for  attendance  on  the  meetings  of  the  board  except 
his  necessary  traveling  expenses;  which  shall  be  paid  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  instructors  employed  in  the  said  normal 


Bills  and  Acts  to  Estahlisli  an  Educational  Institution    557 

university  shall  be  paid.  At  all  the  stated  and  other  meetings 
of  the  board  called  by  the  president  or  secretary,  or  any  five 
members  of  the  board,  five  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum, 
provided  all  shall  have  been  duly  notified. 

4.  The  objects  of  the  said  normal  university  shall  be  to 
qualify  teachers  for  the  common  schools  of  the  state  by  imparting 
instiniction  in  the  art  of  teaching  and  all  branches  of  study  which 
pertain  to  a  common  school  education,  in  the  elements  of  the 
natural  sciences,  including  agricultural  chemistry,  animal  and 
vegetable  physiology,  in  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  in  regard  to  the  rights  and 
duties  of  citizens,  and  such  other  studies  as  tlie  board  of  educa- 
tion may  from  time  to  time  prescribe. 

5.  The  board  of  education  shall  hold  its  first  meeting  at 
the  office  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  May  next,  at  which  meeting  they  shall  appoint 
an  agent,  fixing  his  compensation,  who  shall  visit  the  cities,  vil- 
lages, and  other  places  in  the  state,  which  may  be  deemed  eligible 
for  the  purpose,  to  receive  donations  and  proposals  for  the  es- 
tablishment and  maintenance  of  the  normal  university.  The 
board  shall  have  power  and  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  fix  the  per- 
manent location  of  said  normal  university  at  the  place  where  the 
most  favorable  inducements  are  offered  for  that  purpose :  Pro- 
vided, that  such  location  shall  not  be  difficult  of  access,  or  detri- 
mental to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  said  normal  uni- 
versity. 

6.  The  Board  of  Education  shall  appoint  a  principal,  lec- 
turer, on  scientific  subjects,  instructors  and  instructresses,  togeth- 
er with  such  officers  as  shall  be  required  in  the  said  Normal  Uni- 
versity, fix  their  respective  salaries  and  prescribe  their  several 
duties.  They  shall  also  have  power  to  remove  any  of  them  for 
proper  cause,  after  having  given  ten  days'  notice  of  any  charge 
which  may  be  duly  presented  and  reasonable  opportunity  for 
defense.  They  shall  also  prescribe  textbooks,  apparatus  and  fur- 
niture to  be  used  in  the  university,  and  provide  the  same ;  and 
shall  make  all  regulations  necessary  for  its  management,  and 
the  Board  shall  have  the  power  to  recognize  auxiliary  institu- 
tions when  deemed  practical;  Provided,  that  such  auxiliary  in- 


558  History  University  of  Illinois 

stitutions  shall  receive  any  appropriation  from  the  treasury  or 
the  seminaiy  or  university  fund. 

7.  Each  county  within  the  state  shall  be  entitled  to  gra- 
tuitous instruction  for  one  pupil  in  said  Normal  University,  and 
each  respective  district  shall  be  entitled  to  gratuitous  instruction 
for  a  number  of  pupils  equal  to  the  number  of  representatives 
in  said  district,  to  be  chosen  in  the  following  manner:  The 
school  commissioner  (county  superintendent)  in  each  county 
shall  receive  and  register  all  names  of  applicants  for  admission 
in  said  Normal  University,  and  shall  present  the  same  to  the 
county  court,  or  in  counties  acting  under  township  organization, 
to  the  Board  of  Supei'visors,  which  county  court,  or  Board  of 
Supervisors,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall,  together  with  the  county 
commissioner,  examine  all  applicants  so  presented,  in  such  man- 
ner as  the  Board  of  Education  may  direct,  and  the  number  of 
such  as  shall  be  found  to  possess  the  requisite  qualifications,  such 
pupils  shall  be  so  selected  by  lot ;  and  in  representative  districts 
composed  of  more  than  one  county,  the  school  commissioner  and 
the  county  judge  or  school  commissioner  and  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  in  counties  acting  under  to^vnship  organ- 
ization, as  the  case  may  be,  of  the  several  counties  composing 
such  representative  districts,  shall  meet  at  the  clerk's  office  of  the 
county  court  of  the  oldest  county,  and  from  the  applicants  so  pre- 
sented to  the  county  court  or  Board  of  Supervisors,  of  the  sev- 
eral counties  represented,  and  found  to  possess  the  requisite 
qualifications,  shall  select  by  lot  the  number  of  pupils  to  which 
the  said  district  is  entitled.  Thei  Board  of  Education  shall  have 
the  discretionary  power,  if  any  candidate  does  not  sign  and  file 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  a  declaration  that  he  or  she  will 
teach  in  the  public  schools  within  the  State,  in  case  that  engage- 
ments can  be  secured  by  reasonable  efforts,  to  require  such  can- 
didate to  provide  for  the  payment  of  such  fees  for  tuition  as  the 
Board  may  prescribe. 

8.  The  interest  of  the  university  and  seminary  fund,  or 
such  thereof  as  may  be  found  necessary,  shall  be,  and  is  hereby 
appropriated  for  the  maintenance  of  said  Normal  University, 
and  shall  be  paid  on  the  order  of  the  Board  of  Education  from 
the  treasury  of  the  State;  but  in  no  case  shall  any  part  of  the 


Bills  and  Acts  to  EstahlisJi  an  Educational  Institution    559 

interest  of  said  fund  be  applied  to  the  purchase  of  sites,  or  build- 
ings for  said  university. 

9.  The  Board  shall  have  power  to  appropriate  the  $1,000 
received  from  the  Messrs.  Merriam,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
by  the  late  superintendent  to  the  purchase  of  apparatus  for  the 
use  of  the  Normal  University,  when  established,  and  hereafter 
all  gifts,  grants  and  demises  which  may  be  made  to  the  said 
Normal  University  shall  be  applied  in  accordance  with  the  wishes 
of  the  donor  of  the  same. 

10.  The  Board  of  corporators  herein  named,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, shall  each  of  them  hold  their  office  for  the  term  of  six 
years :  Provided,  that  at  the  first  meeting  of  said  Board,  the  said 
corporators  shall  determine  by  lot,  so  that  one-third  shall  hold 
their  office  for  two  years,  one-third  for  four  years,  and  one-third 
for  six  years.  The  Governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate,  shall  fill  all  vacancies  which  shall  at  axij  time  occur 
in  said  Board,  by  appointment  of  suitable  persons  to  fill  the  same. 

11.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board,  and  at  each  biennial 
meeting  hereafter,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  board  to  elect 
one  of  their  number  president,  who  shall  serve  until  next  bi- 
ennial meeting  of  the  board,  and  until  his  successor  is  elected. 

12.  At  each  biennial  meeting  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Board  to  appoint  a  treasurer  who  shall  not  be  a  member  of  the 
board,  and  who  shall  give  bond,  with  such  security  as  the  Board 
may  direct,  conditioned  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties. 

13.  This  act  shall  take  effect  on  and  after  its  passage  and 
be  published  and  distributed  as  an  Appendix  to  the  school  law. 

Act  of  1861  establishing  Illinois  Agricultural  College 

Private  Laws  1867,  Februaiy  12,  pp.  1-3. 

In  force  The  act  creating  the  institution  reads  as 

Feb.  21  1861    given  below: 

An  Act  to  provide  for  the  disposition  of 
Seminary  lands,  and  to  incorporate  the  Illinois 
Agricultural  College. 


560 


History  University  of  Illinois 


SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People 
of  tlie  State  of  Illinois,  represented  in  tlie  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  That  J.  W.  Singleton,  Thomas 
Quick,  William  A.  Hacker,  Walter  Buchanan, 
B.  C.  Renois,  Harmon  Alexander,  Curtis  Blake- 
man,  James  G.  Stipp  and  Zadoc  Casey,  and  all 
ni.  Agric.  such  other  persons  as  may  become  associated 

College  with  them,  are  hereby  constituted  a  body  corpo- 

incorporated  rate,  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Illinois  Agri- 
cultural College,  for  the  purpose  of  instruction 
and  science  in  practical  and  scientific  agricul- 
ture, and  in  the  mechanic  arts. 

Capital  2.     The  capital  stock  of  said  company  shall 

Stock.  be  fifty  thousand  dollars,  with  liberty  to  increase 

it  to  the  sum  of  tv/o  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
to  be  divided  into  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars, 
which  shall  be  considered  personal  property,  and 
assignable  in  such  manner  as  said  corporation 
may,  by  its  by-laws,  from  time  to  time  provide. 
The  capital  stock  of  said  corporation  shall  be 
exclusively  devoted  to  the  purposes  named  in  the 
first  section  of  this  act ;  and  to  that  end  said  cor- 
poration may  acquire,  by  purchase  or  otherwiKC, 
hold  and  convey  real  estate  to  the  amount  of  its 
capital. 

3.  Within  ninety  days  from  the  passage 
of  this  act,  the  said  corporators  shall  open  a 
subscription  book  for  said  stock,  at  such  times 
and  places  as  they  shall  appoint,  giving  at  least 
fourteen  days'  previous  notice  of  the  same  in 
two  or  more  newspapers  in  this  State.  Ten  per 
cent  of  the  w^hole  amount  of  the  stock  taken  shall 
be  paid  at  the  time  of  subscription,  and  the  bal- 
ance shall  be  paid  at  such  time,  place  and  man- 
ner as  shall  be  required  by  the  directors  of  said 
company. 

Officers  to  4.     Whenever  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 

be  elected  shall  have  been  subscribed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 


Bills  and  Ads  to  EstabUsJi  an  Educational  Institution    561 

said  corporators  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  stock- 
holders, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  elect,  by  ballot, 
one  president  and  five  directors,  including  the 
president  and  one  secretary,  who  shall  be  ex- 
officio  treasurer.  Said  board  of  directors  shall 
proceed  to  organize  said  corporation,  by  the 
adoption  of  suitable  by-laws,  by  purchasing  a 
farm,  on  which  shall  be  erected  suitable  buildings 
for  carrying  into  effect  the  objects  of  said  cor- 
poration. 

5.  The  stock,  property  and  concerns  of 
said  corporation  shall  be  managed  by  said  direc- 
tors, who  shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year 
from  their  election,  and  until  their  successor 
shall  have  been  elected. 

6.  In  employing  professors  and  teachers  to 
impart  instruction  in  practical  agriculture  and 
the  mechanical  arts  to  the  pupils  attending  said 
institution,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  directors 
to  give  said  pupils  an  opportunity  and  to  require 
of  them  to  labor  in  the  field,  in  the  workshop  or 
in  the  laboratory  one-half  of  the  time,  from  the 
first  of  March  tcy  the  first  of  December,  to  the 
end  that  all  the  pupils  may  learn  the  practice 
of  productive  industry  as  well  as  mental  improve- 
ment, sol  useful  to  every  citizen. 

7.  Said  directors,  in  locating  said  college 
and  experimental  farm  shall  be  confined  to  that 
part  of  the  State  south  of  a  line  drawn  cast  and 
west  through  the  center  of  the  state. 

8.  That  the  college  and  seminarj^  lands  of 
this  state  be  and  they  are  hereby  donated  to  said 
corporation,  with  poAver  to  lease,  sell,  dispose  of 
and  convey  the  same,  and  to  receive  and  collect 
the  money  arising  therefrom,  for  the  purposes 
of  establishing,  improving  and  carrying  on  said 
college  and  farm. 


562  History  University  of  Illinois 

9.  The  said  institution  shall  receive  annu- 
ally one  student  from  each  county  of  the  state, 
free  of  charge,  for  tuition,  to  be  instructed  in 
the  science  and  practice  of  scientific  agriculture 
and  the  mechanical  arts:  Provided,  however, 
that  said  pupils  may  be  expelled  for  disorderly 
conduct  and  insubordination. 

10.  Said  corporation  shall  make  a  full  bi- 
ennial report  to  the  legislature,  when  in  session, 
of  their  financial  condition,  their  progress,  the 
number  of  pupils  received  and  discharged,  stat- 
ing the  residence  of  each,  etc. 

11.  Said  corporation  may  adopt  a  common 
seal ;  may  sue  and  be  sued  in  any  court  in  this 
state. 

12.  Provided,  That  no  part  of  the  proceeds 
derived  from  the  sale  of  the  lands  herein  granted 
shall  be  expended  in  purchasing  lands  or  in  the 
erection  of  buildings,  or  for  liquidating  the  debts 
of  any  institution  to  which  said  funds  may  be 
donated,  or  for  expenses  of  commissioners  in 
locating  the  institution. 

13.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage. 

Approved  February  21,  1861. 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  24 

Tho  following  circular  which  was  printed  and  distributed  shows  the 
arguments  employed  in  Morgan  county  in  the  effort  to  secure  the  location 
of  the  university.  This  address  is  perhaps  typical  of  the  arguments  used 
not  only  in  Illinois  but  in  other  states;  in  any  case  they  are  interesting  in 
light  of  events  of  a  half  century. 


ADMESS 


OF  THE 


CENTRAL  COMMITTEE 


TO  THE 


CITIZENS 


OF 


MORGAN  COUNTY 


RELATIVE  TO  THE  LOCATlOxN 


OF  THE 


3ln&«0trial  Muiu^rattg 


JACKSONVILLE.  ILLINOIS. 

PRINTED  AT  JACKSONVILLE  JOURNAL  OFFICE: 

1866 


566 


History  University  of  Illinois 


PRELIMINARY  MEETING 

At  a  meeting  of  citizens  held  at  Jacksonville,  February  5th, 
1866,  and  by  nomination  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  Morgan 
County,  the  folloAvdng  gentlemen  were  appointed  to  prepare  and 
publish  an  address  to  the  citizens  of  the  county  on  the  subject 
of  securing  the  location  of  the  Industrial  University  of  this  State 
in  Morgan  County. 


DR.  A.  McFARLAND, 
I.  L.  MORRISON,  ESQ., 
PROF.  W.  D.  SANDERS, 
DR.  J.  H.  BROWN, 
J.  T.  HOLMES, 
PETER   ROBERTS, 
JAMES  McMASTERS, 
WM.  S.  PURCELL, 
O.  P.  REAUGH, 
JOHN  GORDON, 
OLIVER  COULTER, 
WM.  COULTER, 
SAMUEL  FRENCH, 
O.  J.  THOMPSON, 
EDWARD  LUSK, 
O.  D.  CRITZER, 
DR.  WACKLY, 


PROF.  J.  B.  TURNER, 
CYRUS  EPLER,  ESQ., 
JOHN  C.  SALTER, 
J.  W.  MEACHAM, 
SAMUEL  WOODS, 
DANIEL  DEDRICK, 
DR.  J.  DETRITCH, 
DAVID  G.  HENDERSON, 
ISAAC  STOCKTON, 
JOHN  T.  ALEXANDER, 
STEPHEN  DUNLAP, 
DR.  SAM'L  L.  WEAGLY, 
DR.  WINN, 
ISAAC  R.  BENNETT, 
JAMES  H.  SELF, 
JESSE  HENDRY. 


TO  THE  CITIZENS  OF  MORGAN  COUNTY. 

At  a  meeting  attended  by  a  large  number  of  the  most  influ- 
ential citizens  of  this  county,  the  undersigned  were  appointed  as 
a  committee  to  present  a  subject  of  more  importance  to  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  county  than  any  ever  before  introduced  to 
your  notice.  As  the  subject  has  an  issue  which  must  be  reached 
within  a  short  time,  we  ask  for  it  your  thoughtful  and  candid  con- 
sideration. 

For  many  years,  attention  has  been  directed  in  search  of  a 
system  of  education,  in  the  higher  grades,  better  adapted  to  fit 
young  men  for  the  practical  duties  of  life  than  that  pursued  in 
the  now  existing  colleges.  It  is  believed  that  the  progress  and 
wants  of  the  country,  and  the  new  aspects  and  aims  of  labor, 
point  to  a  system  in  which  the  practical  arts  shall  be  the  pre- 
dominating feature.  It  is  not  intended  that  the  proposed  system 
shall  supercede  or  stand  in  opposition  to  that  now  pursued  in 
our  colleges ;  but  that  it  shall  be  framed  to  meet  the  requirements 


Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Morgan  County  567 

of  a  class  who  intend  to  devote  their  lives  to  the  pursuits  of  agri- 
culture, practical  science,  and  the  mechanic  arts.  It  claims  that 
this  largest  class  of  our  young  men  shall  have  the  same  chances 
for  a  special  education  in  their  destined  pureuits  as  the  la\vyer 
or  the  physician  have  in  theirs.  It  is  a  recognition  of  the  great 
fact  of  the  day,  that  the  farmer,  the  engineer,  and  the  artisan, 
claim,  and  must  have,  the  aids  of  a  scientific  education,  pursued 
under  advantages  and  on  a  scale  hitherto  unknown  in  our  edu- 
cational systems.  The  great  advance  evidently  before  us  in  the 
importance  of  the  agricultural  interest ;  the  extensive  application 
of  machinery  to  agricultural  operations ;  the  rising  value  of  lands 
in  our  State — all  demanding  that  every  aid  that  science  can  give 
shall  be  systematically  imparted — call  for  some  new  educational 
institution,  controlled  by  State  authority,  and  devoted  to  this 
great  paramount  interest  of  our  people.  The  proposed  system 
is  one  designed  to  give  to  labor  its  natural  rights,  to  impart  to  the 
laboring  man  a  conviction  that  his  calling  is  second  to  no  other, 
and  to  banish  the  servile  maxim  that  "  he  who  thinks  is  lord  of 
him  that  toils. ' ' 

These  considerations  have  at  length  so  far  established  them- 
selves as  to  receive  the  endorsement  of  the  National  Legislature, 
and  its  action  upon  the  subject  is  worthy  the  representatives  of  a 
free  and  progressive  people.  Congress  has,  by  a  late  act,  the  ma- 
terial provisions  of  which  we  give  below,  not  only  recognized, 
the  wants  alluded  to,  but  placed  such  an  institution  within  reach 
of  every  State  in  the  Union : 

' '  There  shall  be  granted  to  the  several  States,  for  the  pur- 
poses hereinafter  mentioned,  an  amount  of  public  land  to  be 
apportioned  to  each  State  a  quantity  equal  to  thirty  thousand 
acres  for  each  Senator  and  Representative  in  Congress  to  which 
the  States  are  respectively  entitled  by  the  apportionment  under 
the  census  of  1860.      ******»*••• 

All  moneys  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  lands  aforesaid, 
by  the  States  to  which  the  lands  are  apportioned,  and  from  the 
sale  of  land  scrip  hereinbefore  provided  for,  shall  be  invested 
in  stocks  of  the  United  States,  of  the  States,  or  some  other  safe 
stocks  yielding  not  less  than  five  percentum  upon  the  par  value  of 
said  stocks,  and  the  moneys  so  invested  shall  constitute  a  perpe- 


568  History  University  of  Illinois 

tual  fund,  the  capital  of  which  shall  remain  forever  undiminished 
(except  so  far  as  may  be  provided  in  section  fifth  of  this  act),  and 
the  interest  of  which  shall  be  inviolably  appropriated  by  each 
State  which  may  take  and  claim  the  benefit  of  tliis  act,  to  the 
endowment,  support,  and  maintenance  of  at  least  one  college, 
where  the  leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  sci- 
entific and  classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to 
teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and 
the  mechanic  arts,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislatures  of  the  States 
may  respectively  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and 
practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pur- 
suits and  professions  in  life. 

The  grant  of  land  and  land  scrip  hereby  authorized  shall  be 
made  on  the  following  conditions,  to  which  as  well  as  to  the 
provisions  hereinbefore  contained,  the  previous  assent  of  the 
several  States  shall  be  signified  by  legislative  acts. 

If  any  portion  of  the  fund  invested,  as  provided  by  the  fore- 
going sections,  or  any  portion  of  the  interest  thereon  shall  by 
any  action  or  contingency  be  diminished  or  lost,  it  shall  be  re- 
placed by  the  State  to  which  it  belongs,  so  that  the  capital  of 
the  fund  shall  remain  forever  undiminished,  and  the  annual  in- 
terest shall  be  regularly  applied  without  diminution  to  the 
purposes  mentioned  in  the  fourth  section  of  this  act,  except, 
that  a  sum  not  exceeding  ten  per  centum  upon  the  amount  re- 
ceived by  any  State  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  may  be 
expended  for  the  purchase  of  lands  for  sites  or  experimental 
farms,  wherever  authorized  by  the  respective  legislatures  of  said 
States.  No  portion  of  said  fund,  nor  the  interest  thereon  shall 
be  applied,  directly  or  indirectly,  under  any  pretence  whatever, 
to  the  purchase,  erection,  preservation  or  repair  of  any  building 
or  buildings. 

Any  State  which  may  take  and  claim  the;  benefit  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  shall  provide,  within  five  years,  at  least  not 
less  than  one  college,  as  described  in  the  fourth  section  of  this  act, 
or  the  grant  to  such  State  shall  cease,  and  said  State  shall  be 
bound  to  pay  the  United  States  the  amount  received  of  any  lands 
previously  sold,  and  the  title  to  purchasers  under  the  State,  shall 
bo  valid. 


Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Morgan  County  569 

An  annual  report  shall  be  made  regarding  the  progress  of 
each  college,  recording  any  improvements  and  experiments  made, 
with  their  cost  and  results,  and  such  other  matters,  including 
State  industrial  and  economical  statistics,  as  may  be  supposed 
useful ;  one  copy  of  which  shall  be  transmitted  by  mail  free,  by 
each  to  all  the  other  colleges  which  may  be  endowed  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  and  also  one  copy  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior. ' ' 

The  provisions  of  the  above  act  of  Congress  are  very  easily 
understood.  It  gives  to  the  State  of  Illinois  480,000  acres  of  the 
public  lands,  as  a  perpetual  endowment,  not  possible  to  be  dim- 
inished, forfeited,  or  perverted  by  any  contingency  possible  in 
the  future.  Unlike  most  endowments,  it  cannot  be  alienated  or 
abused  by  those  holding  it  in  special  trust,  because  the  State,  in 
accepting  the  grant,  becomes  a  general  trustee,  under  bonds  to 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  the  most  unquestionable 
stringency.  Indeed,  the  institution,  when  once  it  is  established, 
is  as  permanent  as  the  State  Government  itself.  No  change  of 
State  policy — no  mutation  of  public  sentiment — no  partisan  effort 
can  ever,  in  the  slightest  degree,  divert  this  noble  fund  from  its 
particular  purpose.  It  can  never  become  the  instrument  of  any 
party,  clique,  or  sect,  from  its  direct  connection  with,  and  depen- 
dence upon,  the  executive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  State 
Government.  Being,  as  it  will  be,  directly  answerable  to  the 
legislature,  its  management  must  always  be  conformable  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  people.  No  extreme,  ultra,  or  speculative  views 
on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  it  may  be  for  the  time  committed, 
can,  for  any  length  of  time,  put  the  institution  beyond  the  control 
of  public  opinion. 

When  once  established  it  imposes  no  future  burdens  upon  its 
friends  and  patrons.  It  becomes  a  perpetual  source  of  benefit  to 
the  State  at  large,  and  especially  to  interests  in  its  vicinity, 
while  it  asks  no  further  aid,  through  all  coming  time,  than  the 
public  consideration  and  interest.  Born,  as  it  is  to  be,  out  of  the 
God-created  wealth  of  the  public  domain,  it  only  needs  the  foster- 
ing wisdom  of  the  State  to  move  on  in  a  career  of  unbroken  use- 
fulness— conferring  inestimable  benefits  upon  the  youth  of  the 
State  in  future  generations. 


570  History  University  of  Illinois 

VALUE  OF  THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  INSTITUTION  IN  A  PECUNIARY  VIEW. 

Good  judges  estimate  the  cash  value  of  the  endowment  made 
by  Congress  at  $400,000,  yielding,  at  6  per  cent,  interest,  an  an- 
nual revenue  of  $24,000.  This  can  only  be  applied  to  the  purposes 
of  instruction.  It  is  contemplated  that  a  farm  of  500  or  600 
acres  be  established  in  connection  with  the  institution,  both  for  its 
experimental  purposes  and  as  an  economical  aid  in  its  suppport. 
By  the  aid  of  such  a  farm,  brought  to  the  highest  state  of  pro- 
ductiveness, the  board  of  the  pupils  would  be  so  reduced  as  to 
make  the  institution,  in  point  of  economical  support,  by  far  the 
most  advantageous  of  any  others  in  the  country.  Aside  from  the 
peculiar  nature  of  the  course  of  instruction,  the  economical  na- 
ture of  the  institution  would  become  an  attraction  such  as  would 
bring  numbers  of  pupils  now  shut  out  of  unendowed  colleges. 
Suppose  the  charge  to  pupils  to  be  $3.50  per  week — a  sum  con- 
siderably below  the  tuition  and  board  charges  of  other  institu- 
tions— and  rating  the  number  of  pupils  at  1000,  we  have  an 
annual  expenditure  of  money  in  the  locality  of  the  institution 
of  $157,000  for  terms  of  thirty-eight  weeks  duration — the  reve- 
nue of  the  endo-wment  being  added.  In  this  is  not  included  the 
incidental  expenses  of  the  pupils  for  clothing  and  other  extras, 
mostly  obtained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  institution,  the  whole  mak- 
ing an  amount  of  money  annually  expended  in  the  county  of  at 
least  $200,000.  We  are  convinced  that  these  figures  are  strictly 
within  the  truth.  The  number  of  pupils  may  have  absolutely 
no  limit,  save  in  capacity  of  the  institution  to  receive  them.  The 
institution  will  have  large  advantages  over  others,  hardly  to  be 
enumerated  here,  but  which  cannot  fail  to  insure  its  permanency 
and  success  beyond  a  question.  Its  permanent  Congressional 
funds — secured  absolutely  upon  a  pledge  of  the  whole  treasury 
of  the  State  of  Illinois,  its  exemption  from  all  taxation,  its  free- 
dom from  any  possibility  of  sectarian  or  political  bias,  its  inev- 
itable hold  upon  the  patronage  from  the  people  of  the  whole 
State,  will  give  it  all  the  elements  essential  to  a  full  success  from 
the  very  start.  Its  attractions  for  students  must  be  without  a  par- 
allel. No  professors  are  to  be  paid  from  the  rates  paid  by  them, 
no  interest  on  first  cost  of  buildings,  no  apparatus  to  be  paid 
for — all  is  provided  save  the  bare  expenses  of  living  while  pur- 


Address  to  ilie  Citizens  of  Morgan  County  571 

suing  their  educational  course.  Here  we  have  a  permanent 
school  of  instruction  so  inexpensive  as  to  attract  the  child  of 
poverty  to  the  very  best  advantages  in  the  land,  in  all  those 
branches  which  will  fit  him  for  honorable  stations  in  life,  and 
yet  pouring  into  the  channels  of  trade,  in  the  community  pos- 
sessing it,  year  by  year,  in  an  unceasing  flow,  the  large  amount 
before  stated. 

In  making  these  statements  we  must  not  be  understood  that 
the  desirableness  of  the  institution  to  the  County  of  Morgan  is 
at  all  confined  to  its  direct  pecuniary  disbursements.  Neither 
would  we  libel  the  public  sentiment  by  pretending  that  these  are 
the  sole  reasons  why  the  county  should  vnsh  to  wear  on  her 
bosom  this  most  rich  and  honorable  jewel.  There  are  further 
advantages  to  be  taken  into  account. 

The  State  of  Illinois  is  yet  without  its  agricultural  center. 
Although  ranking  as  nearly  the  first  in  agricultural  importance, 
and  doubtless  soon  to  be  the  very  first,  it  has  no  museum  in  which 
the  progress  of  improvement  in  agricultural  implements  and  ma- 
chinery may  be  studied,  and  where  specimens  of  every  vegetable 
product  of  the  State  may  be  collected  and  preserved.  Neither 
has  it  any  library  of  agricultural  works.  Agricultural  science 
can  never  advance,  however  important  it  may  be  in  the  industrial 
interests  of  a  State,  unless  those  w^ho  devote  themselves  to  it 
have  direct  access  to  the  works  of  other  minds  in  this  and  foreign 
lands.  Thus  Illinois,  where  the  groundwork  of  the  highest 
agricultural  perfection  is  under  our  feet,  has  yet  contributed  to 
the  world  little  in  this,  her  all-pervading  department  of  industry. 
Such  a  museum  and  such  a  library  Avill  be  established  in  connec- 
tion with  the  contemplated  University,  These  will,  whUe  in- 
creasing the  value  of  the  appliances  of  education,  serve  as  attrac- 
tions to  the  general  public. 

Again,  it  would  be  altogether  probable  that  the  establish- 
ment of  the  proposed  university  would  fix  the  same  locality  as  the 
permanent  seat  of  the  State  Agricultural  Fairs.  That  the  pres- 
ent practice  of  changing  the  place  of  meeting  of  those  most  pro- 
fitable gatherings  of  the  farmers  of  the  State  with  each  year  -will 
long  continue  no  one  can  believe.  A  fixed  location,  to  which  one 
can  always  look  as  the  certain  place  of  meeting,  is  most  essential 


572  History  University  of  Illinois 

to  the  usefulness  and  even  long  existence  of  the  Society.  Conse- 
quently, a  permanent  location  must  soon  be  decided  upon.  Pro- 
vided the  Agricultural  University  has  a  location  at  all  central, 
with  its  experimental  faiTn,  its  agricultural  museum,  its  library, 
and  all  its  other  appendages,  so  interesting  to  the  farmer,  is  it 
at  all  probable  that  the  fairs  of  the  State  Society  will  not  have 
a  location  in  its  vicinity?  We  believe  we  speak  the  sentiments 
of  every  farmer  of  the  State  in  saying  that  it  should  be  so.  The 
institution  proposed  would  form  a  center  around  which  every- 
thing interesting  to  the  farmer  would  gather.  Young  men  from 
all  quarters  of  the  State  would  assemble  here  for  instruction. 
They  enlist  the  interest  of  relatives  and  neighbors.  Where  one 
now  visits  the  county  scores  would  be  attracted  by  this  most  im- 
portant object  of  interest  and  curiosity.  By  thus  creating  an  im- 
portant center  every  material  interest  of  the  county  would  be 
promoted  to  a  degree  almost  beyond  calculation. 

Few  persons  are  fully  aware  of  the  effect  of  public  institu- 
tions, established  on  permanent  basis,  in  enhancing  the  value  of 
real  property  in  their  vicinity.  What  would  Morgan  County  be 
with  no  State  institution,  no  college,  no  seminarj^ — nothing  to 
distinguish  it  from  other  counties  of  the  State?  Blot  out  all 
these,  and  does  any  reflective  mind  doubt  that  real  estate  would 
depreciate  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent?  Yet  the  proposed  insti- 
tution will,  in  its  natural  annual  disbursements,  equal  them  all 
combined,  to  say  nothing  of  the  stimulus  given  to  trade  in  the 
erection  of  buildings,  the  influx  of  visitors,  and  the  other  large 
revenues,  either  directly  or  indirectly  arising  from  its  establish- 
ment. It  will  largely  increase  the  population  of  the  county  and 
thus  relieve  the  burdens  of  taxation.  Even  foreign  immigration 
will  be  stimulated  by  the  chain  of  institutions  established  by  the 
terms  of  the  act  of  Congress.  Their  results  being  annually  pub- 
lished by  the  Bureau  of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  the  present 
system  of  international  exchange  will  bring  them  before  the  pub- 
lic mind  of  Europe,  and  the  advantage  of  our  State  as  the  home 
of  the  emigrant  will  become  known  to  thousands  who  would 
otherwise  remain  in  ignorance.  Those  who  pass  the  State  Nor- 
mal University  at  Bloomington,  observe  that  a  new,  thriving, 
and  populous  town  is  growing  up  almost  under  its  shadow.  The 
institution  itself  has  mainly  created  it.    Yet  this  instance  affords 


Address  to  tlie  Citizens  of  Morgan  County  573 

no  comparison  to  what  would  be  the  consequence  in  the  case  of 
the  proposed  University,  with  its  ample  endowments,  its  wide 
scope  of  instruction,  and  its  large  and  varied  interests,  a  part  of 
which  we  have  considered. 

Who  can  deny  that,  under  these  views,  the  contemplated 
institution  assumes  a  proportion,  and  a  prospective  power  for 
good,  to  which  it  is  not  easy  to  set  a  limit  ?  It  will  establish  the 
supremacy  of  labor — labor  made  a  hundred-fold  more  potent 
by  being  educated  and  skilled  by  an  ever-advancing  science. 
These  and  similar  considerations  will  of  course  have  their  dis- 
cussion and  settlement  at  another  stage  in  the  progress  of  this 
design.  They  are  only  introduced  here  to  show  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  work  thus  begun  by  government,  and 
the  high  advantages  accruing  from  its  location. 

In  most,  if  not  all  the  States  which  have  maintained  their 
loyalty  since  the  act  of  Congress  was  passed  establishing  these 
institutions,  the  gift  has  been  accepted,  and  in  several  of  them 
the  institutions  are  now  in  full  operation.  The  strife  for  their 
location  has  been  most  animated,  and  in  many  of  the  States,  the 
counties  obtaining  the  location  have  pledged  amounts  of  money  in 
aid  of  the  institution,  as  a  bonus  given  in  consideration  of  the 
local  advantage  derived  from  it  when  established.  A  single 
individual  in  the  State  of  New  York  has  given,  in  money  and 
lands,  nearly  three-fourths  of  a  million  of  dollars  to  secure  the 
location  of  the  institution  of  that  State  in  his  neighborhood,  so 
convinced  was  he  of  its  immense  advantages  to  the  \dcinity  of  its 
location. 

SHALL    THIS   INSTITUTION    BE    LOCATED    IN    MORGAN    COUNTY? 

In  no  State  in  the  Union  is  the  competition  likely  to  be  so 
active  as  in  Illinois.  Already  several  of  the  counties  are  muster- 
ing their  strength,  in  money  and  influence,  and  will  urge  their 
claims  with  the  utmost  force  at  their  command.  The  location 
will  not  fail  them  through  any  default  of  action.  Liberal  offers 
will  be  made  by  them,  and  plausible  reasons  given  in  their  favor. 
But  the  question  is,  Sliall  the  County  of  Morgan,  already  so  con- 
spicuous, not  only  for  the  advantages  of  centrality  and  facility 
of  access,  but  also  as  being  the  location  of  other  State  institu- 


674  History  University  of  Illinois 

iions,  put  in  no  claim  for  this,  the  most  important  of  them  all? 
We  hope  that  in  reply  to  this  question  there  will  be  but  a  single 
answer:  "Morgan  County  is,  under  every  aspect  of  the  case, 
the  very  best  location  that  could  he  selected,  and  the  citizens  of 
the  county  will  stand  first  in  their  offers  to  secure  it!"  This 
reply,  we  respectfully  claim,  is  the  only  one  which  the  county  can 
consistently  make. 

Within  the  past  twenty  years  over  two  millions  of  dollars 
have  been  brought  from  the  State  treasury  and  expended  mainly 
within  the  county.  The  County  in  its  corporate  capacity  has 
never  been  called  on  for  a  dollar  beyond  its  share  of  a  burden 
in  common  with  other  counties  of  the  State.  It  has  enjoyed  all 
the  advantages  of  being,  for  twenty  years,  the  location  of  the  most 
desirable  of  all  the  State  interests.  Here  the  State  has  expended 
more  of  its  public  money  than  at  any  other  point.  Is  not  this 
a  time  when  the  citizens  of  the  county  should  hold  to  the  State 
language  like  this:  ''We  acknowledge  the  other  institutions  to 
have  been  of  the  nature  of  a  gift  from  the  State  to  the  county ; 
this,  on  the  contrary,  we  expect  to  obtain  by  honorable  pur- 
chase— we  are  thankful  for  the  benefactions  of  the  State,  con- 
ferred at  a  time  when  the  county  would  have  been  illy  able  to 
make  a  return ;  now  we  wish,  under  a  change  of  circumstances, 
to  show  that  Morgan  County  is  worthy  the  favors  for  many  years 
received  by  her,  rivalling  any  of  her  sister  counties  in  the  amount 
of  her  tender  for  the  proposed  institution." 

The  friends  of  this  measure,  after  ascertaining  so  far  as  prac- 
ticable what  exertion  other  counties  are  making  to  secure  the  loca- 
tion of  the  proposed  institution,  and  after  conference  with  those 
who  are  best  informed  as  to  the  spirit  of  the  Legislature,  believe 
that  the  sum  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  ($300,000)  will 
be  necessary  to  have  the  county  present  herself  as  a  claimant 
for  its  location,  with  any  fair  prospect  of  success.  Should  public 
sentiment  continue  to  encourage  them  they  also  intend  to  in- 
crease this  sum  to  one-third  or  one-half  as  much  more  from  those 
whose  zeal  for  the  enterprise  will  induce  them  to  exceed  their 
proportion  in  the  common  burden.  The  first  named  sum  they 
believe  should  be  raised  by  county  tax,  in  such  annual  install- 
ments as  further  examination  of  the  sense  of  the  county  may  de- 


Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Morgan  County  575 

termine.  This  amount  is  not  large  when  compared  with  the  great 
and  rapidly  increasing  amount  of  taxable  wealth  in  the  county. 

There  are  368,000  acres  of  land  in  the  county.  Allowing 
68,000  acres  as  waste  land  (which  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  fact) 
and  we  have  a  tax  of  only  one  dollar  per  acre  on  the  lands  of 
the  county,  to  create  an  interest  which  will  at  once  raise  their 
value  many  times  that  amount.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
much  of  the  county  tax  is  upon  other  property  than  lands,  which 
still  further  reduces  the  per  centum  on  this  species  of  property. 
All  the  tax  paid  by  merchants,  bankers,  and  indeed  all  taxes 
upon  town  property,  reduce  the  burden  resting  upon  the  lands. 
And  so  much  of  the  lands  are  held  at  high  prices — prices  in  some 
degree  made  high  by  interests  like  the  one  we  are  advocating — 
that,  upon  much  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  valued  as  low  as  thirty 
dollars  per  acre  for  instance,  the  tax  would  really  amount  to 
but  few  cents  per  acre. 

We  have  taken  some  pains  to  ascertain,  from  the  best  judges, 
the  most  correct  estimate  of  the  actual  wealth  of  the  county ;  and 
an  average  of  the  most  reliable  opinion  we  can  obtain  would  fix 
it  at  about  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars  ($25,000,000).  Thus 
the  entire  tax  contemplated  is  only  about  one  cent  and  two  mills 
on  the  dollar  in  the  whole,  and  this  spread  over,  say  three  years 
of  assessment !  Can  there  be  any  person  who  would  regard  this 
as  a  burden  too  great  for  the  county,  considering  the  rapid 
increase  in  property  values?  And  is  there  any  one  who  doubts 
that  before  the  last  installment  was  levied  the  property  assessed 
would  have  increased  five-fold  the  amount  of  the  tax?  Cannot 
the  county  bear  so  small  a  tax  on  its  vast  resources  for  the  sake 
of  such  a  boon  as  is  now  offered  us?  Dropping  from  sight  all 
the  great  moral,  social  and  intellectual  advantages  of  the  institu- 
tion to  any  county,  and  only  looking  to  its  immediate  effect  as 
a  monied  speculation  on  our  real  estate,  is  there  a  man  of  good 
financial  ability  in  Morgan  County  who  does  not  believe  that 
the  bare  fact  of  the  location  of  such  an  institution  in  our  county, 
before  even  its  comer  stone  is  laid,  would  not  raise  the  price  of 
land  quite  as  much  as  we  have  stated. 

But  among  those  who  would  discourage  action  in  regard  to 
the  location  of  this  institution  in  the  County  of  Morgan,  it  may 


576  History  University  of  Illinois 

be  said,  ' '  The  State  has  already  established  here  so  many  of  its 
public  institutions  that  to  expect  more  is  out  of  the  question." 
But  this  reason,  the  Committee  claim,  is  of  no  force  whatever. 
This  institution  is  not  to  be  established  for  mere  local  ends, 
neither  does  any  intelligent  man  so  regard  it.  Its  probable  suc- 
cess is  the  only  question,  and  that  of  location  is,  to  nineteen- 
twentieths  of  the  people,  wholly  subordinate.  Morgan  County 
would  be  the  choice  of  the  vast  majority,  and  the  exceptions 
would  be  chiefly  among  those  who  have  local  wishes  of  their  own. 
Ask  any  fair-minded  person  for  his  opinion,  and  his  reply  will 
be — ' '  My  own  county  first  and  Morgan  next. ' ' 

As  a  general  statement,  the  county  is  as  much  interested  in 
having  the  institution  well  located  as  any  county  can  be.  Its 
intelligent  citizens  perceive  that  there  are  certain  requisites  to 
success,  the  failure  of  any  one  of  which  may  ultimately  prove 
fatal.  Hence,  aside  from  local  interests  involved,  every  true  well- 
wisher  to  the  institution  desires  to  see  it  established  in  Morgan 
County.  Here  it  would  have  as  nearly  an  assurance  of  success 
as  any  location  can  possibly  give  to  it,  and,  as  the  Committee 
themselves  believe,  better. 

Should  this  question  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  county, 
there  is  every  desire  that  an  unanimity  of  the  vote  shall  be 
secured.  The  favor  of  the  Legislature  in  locating  the  institution 
in,  the  county  would  be  doubly  increased  by  unanimity  of  solic- 
itation on  the  part  of  citizens.  And  why  should  it  not  be? 
The  poor  man  surely  wants  it,  for  it  will  cost  him  nothing  while 
it  will  greatly  increase  the  demand  for  his  labor,  and  all  the  little 
incidental  products  of  his  garden  and  his  home.  The  rich  want 
it  because  it  will  increase  the  value  of  their  lands,  the  sale  of 
all  their  products,  whether  of  the  farm,  the  shop,  the  store, 
or  the  market.  Our  professional  and  literary  men  want  it  be- 
cause it  is  needful  to  finish  our  great  circle  of  literary  and  benev- 
olent institutions,  and  make  them  more  complete  than  those  of 
any  other  county  in  the  whole  civilized  world.  All  classes  alike, 
rich  and  poor,  learned  and  unlearned,  want  it,  because  it  will 
give  such  facilities  for  the  complete  and  proper  education  both 
of  themselves  and  their  children  as  are  no  where  else  enjoyed. 
Why,  then,  should  not  every  man  in  the  county  vote  for  it? 


Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Morgan  County  577 

It  is  important  that  he  should.  It  is  designed  to  benefit  the 
poor  man  even  more  than  the  rich  one,  and  we  need  the  sympathy 
and  the  co-operation  and  aid  of  every  man,  however  poor,  in  the 
county ;  and  if  the  institution  comes  here  we  can  never  do  our  full 
duty  to  it  as  a  people  without  this  entire  unanimity  of  all  men  of 
all  classes. 

Besides  we  owe  it  to  our  State  as  a  just  and  fitting  expression 
of  our  obligation  to  her  for  the  many  noble  Institutions  already 
located  here,  to  proffer  to  her  service  anew,  all  that  we  as  a 
people  can  afford  either  to  proffer  or  to  do  in  this  new  behalf, 
and  to  pledge  to  her,  if  she  sees  fit  to  accept  our  service,  our  most 
earnest,  hearty,  and  unanimous  good  will.  Such  a  compliment 
is  really  due  to  her,  whether  she  may  find  it  best  to  accept  our 
offers  or  not.  Let  us  tender  it  with  our  hearty  thanks  for  the 
past,  whatever  she  may  deem  to  be  her  duty  in  the  future.  By 
such  an  unanimous  vote,  if  we  fail  of  securing  the  location  of  the 
Institution  here,  we  shall  only  have  shown  ourselves  fully  worthy 
of  this  great  trust.  So  that  in  either  case,  such  a  vote  is  the  only 
one  that  it  best  befits  our  already  highly  favored  county  to  prof- 
fer to  the  State — and  no  man  is  so  poor  or  so  obscure  that  his 
vote  and  his  voice  is  not  most  earnestly  solicited  in  this  great 
interest — it  is  in  fact  more  particularly  his  interest  and  that  of 
his  children,  than  that  of  the  rich. 

The  Committee,  having  presented  this  brief  summary  of  the 
advantages  which  the  location  of  the  State  Agricultural  College 
will  confer  upon  the  community  securing  it,  in  compliance  with 
both  their  duty  and  convictions,  urge  the  matter  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  every  citizen  of  the  county.  Language  of  ours  would  very 
inadequately  describe  the  great  and  lasting  honor  and  benefit 
which  would  be  gained  if  the  already  high  reputation  of  the 
county  could  be  crowned  with  this  exalted  token  of  State  favor. 
Candid  reflection,  on  the  part  of  every  citizen,  will  have  more 
force  than  the  best  considered  argument.  Yet  the  Committee 
cannot  leave  the  subject  without  a  single  suggestion,  to  which 
they  feel  there  will  be  a  general  agreement.  The  possible  future 
of  our  county  is  a  glorious  one.  Everything  hitherto  has  com- 
bined to  make  it  so.  Its  fertile  soil,  its  genial  climate,  its  high 
standard  of  morals  and  education,  the  number  of  distinguished 


578  History  University  of  Illinois 

men  it  has  introduced  into  the  walks  of  public  life — all,  in  short, 
which  constitutes  local  character — have  spread  the  reputation 
of  the  county  far  beyond  State  limits.  Every  citizen  having  a 
property  stake  in  the  county  feels  this  to  be  so.  It  inspires  uni- 
versal confidence  in  the  future;  and  what  but  this  confidence 
maintains  property  in  the  county  at  high  figures  and  keeps  it 
beyond  fluctuation  ?  Shall  the  high  fame  of  the  county  be  wholly 
a  thing  of  the  past,  or  shall  its  vast  future  possibilities  be  seized 
upon,  with  this  rare  opportunity,  and  become  the  realizations  of 
fact?  Eveiy  citizen  of  the  county  who  has  an  acre  of  land  to 
be  sold  or  bequeathed,  or  who  has  a  child  to  be  educated,  is  vitally 
interested  in  this  subject.  It  will  add  to  the  value  of  every  pro- 
perty inheritance,  and  open  up  higher  chances  in  life  to  the 
youth  of  the  county  through  all  coming  generations.  It  is  for 
the  citizens  of  the  county  to  decide  whether  the  exalted  position 
of  the  county  shall  be  wholly  in  its  traditions,  as  it  will  be 
if  this  most  glorious  opportunity  is  seized  by  some  other  county 
now  striving  for  it.  Shall  the  glory  of  Old  Morgan  be  a  thing 
of  the  past?    God  forbid! 

Citizens  of  the  County,  we  leave  the  subject  with  you.  Con- 
sider it  carefully,  and  its  importance  will  the  more  deeply  im- 
press you.  Urge  it  upon  your  less-informed  neighbor,  that  the 
voice  and  vote  of  the  county  may  fix  here  this  everlasting  monu- 
ment of  the  greatness  of  our  State,  and  the  far-seeing  enterprise 
of  our  county. 

DE.  A.  McFARLAND,  PROF.  J.  B.  TURNER, 

I.  L.  MORRISON,  ESQ.,  CYRUS  EPLER,  ESQ., 

PROF.  W.  D.  SANDERS,  JOHN  C.  SALTER, 

DR.  J.  H.  BROWN,  J.  W.  MEACHAM, 

J.  T.  HOLMES  SAMUEL  WOODS, 

PETER  ROBERTS,  DANIEL  DEDRICK, 

JAMES  McMASTERS,  DR.  J.  DETRITCH, 

WM.  S.  PURCELL,  DAVID  G.  HENDERSON, 

O.  P.  REAUGH,  ISAAC  STOCKTON, 

JOHN  GORDON,  JOHN  T.  ALEXANDER, 

OLIVER  COULTER,  STEPHEN  DUNLAP, 

WM.  COULTER,  DR.  SAM  'L  L.  WEAGLY, 

SAMUEL  FRENCH,  DR.  WINN, 

O.  J.  THOMPSON,  ISAAC  R.  BENNETT, 

EDWARD  LUSK,  JAMES  H.  SELF, 

O.  D.  CRITZER,  JESSE  HENRY, 
DR.  WACKLY, 


Resolutions  of  First  Board  of  Trustees  579 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  25 

Eesolutions  passed  by  the  first  board  of  trustees  at  the  March  meeting 
1868  but  ordered  later  to  be  taken  from  the  record. 

Brayman  manuscripts,  University  of  Illinois. 

Whereas,  it  is  represented  and  understood  throughout  this 
State,  that  M.  L.  Dimlap,  Esq.,  of  Champaign  County,  a  member 
of  this  Board  has,  in  publications,  in  newspapers,  in  letters,  in 
public  speeches,  and  in  conversations,  at  various  times  and  places, 
called  in  question,  denounced  and  misrepresented  the  integrity, 
and  official  acts  of  this  Board,  its  officers'  and  committees,  to  the 
manifest  injury  of  this  Institution: — and  whereas,  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University  cannot  claim  that  public  confidence  and 
support  which  are  indispensable  to  success,  while  members  of 
its  Board  of  Tnistees  are  laboring  to  impair  that  confidence  and 
to  overthrow  measures  already  adopted  to  insure  success : — And 
Whereas,  further,  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Board  to  protect  its  offi- 
cers in  the  faithful  performance  of  their  duties,  and  to  preserve 
fidelity,  harmony  and  fraternal  co-operation  among  its  members: 
It  is,  therefore. 

Resolved,  that  this  Board  now  proceed  to  inquire,  by  com- 
mittee or  otherwise,  into  the  matters  here  stated,  and  thereupon 
to  make  upon  the  minutes  of  the  proceedings,  such  record  as  the 
case  may  require. 

Offered  by  Mr.  Brayman  and  adopted. 

March  11,  1868. 

The  committee  to  which  was  referred  the  preamble  and  Reso- 
lutions concerning  M.  L.  Dunlap  a  member  of  this  Board,  re- 
spectfully report. 

Your  committee  finds  the  general  facts  stated  in  the  pre- 
amble to  be  true.  The  public  mind  has  been  disturbed  concern- 
ing the  management!  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University.  The 
evident  effort  has  been  made  to  create  the  impression  that  the 
affairs  of  the  Institution  have  been  committed  to  incompetent 
and  unworthy  hands.  The  committee  is  satisfied  that  for  a  time 
a  strong  prejudice  was  awakened  in  the  public  mind ;  and  equally 


580  History  University  of  Illinois 

well  satisfied  that  the  attendance  is  now  less,  and  the  university- 
is  in  some  respects  still  suffering  injury  from  the  active  hostility 
and  evident  misrepresentations  referred  to. 

Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  M.  L.  Dunlap,  Esq.,  a 
member  of  this  Board  is  mainly  responsible  for  the  evil  com- 
plained of.  For  reasons  which  the  committee  does  not  deem 
necessary  matter  of  enquiry,  he  appears  to  have  become  at  an 
early  day,  hostile  to  the  Regent,  to  the  action  of  this  Board  and 
its  committees,  apparently  because  the  Board  with  a  unanimity 
comprising  nearly  all  its  members  adopted  measures  and  courses 
of  study,  and  modes  of  doing  busines  not  in  accordance  with  his 
individual  wishes. 

The  committee  deem  it  unfortunate  that  Mr.  Dunlap,  while 
sitting  as  a  member  of  this  Board  and  sharing  its  deliberations, 
should  have  felt  at  liberty,  not  only  to  act  as  a  newspaper  corre- 
spondent, but  should,  in  violation  of  propriety  and  fairness, 
indulge  in  palpable  misrepresentations,  too  often  accompanied 
by  ungenerous  imputations  and  abusive  epithets,  when  speaking 
of  the  Regent,  the  Board,  its  committees,  and  of  measures  adopted 
for  the  management  of  our  affairs. 

The  committee  do  not  propose  to  question  the  free  expression 
of  individual  opinions,  nor  the  rights  of  the  Press.  This  is  em- 
phatically an  institution  of  the  people,  and  the  committee  would 
encourage  the  widest  range  of  criterion;  and  if  misunderstood 
or  unjustly  assailed,  we  are  content  to  let  the  history  of  the  insti- 
tution furnish  our  answer.  If  we  are  right,  the  right  will  finally 
appear:  if  wrong,  no  defense  will  avail.  But  the  committee 
declare  that  in  a  Board  composed  of  honorable  gentlemen,  in  the 
performance  of  a  high  duty,  it  is  discourteous,  ungenerous  and 
a  breach  of  propriety  which  cannot  be  defended,  for  one  of  the 
members,  when  almost  alone  in  his  vote  ,  when  his  measures  are 
emphatically  repudiated,  to  go  outside,  fight  the  battle  over  again 
in  the  newspapers,  and  by  intemperance  of  speech  and  violence 
of  reproach,  endeavor  to  disgrace  his  fellow  members,  and  bring 
the  Institution  itself  under  the  ban  of  an  undesired  public  pre- 
judice. The  published  articles  written  by  Mr.  Dunlap,  now  be- 
fore the  committee  justify  the  foregoing  remarks. 


Resolutions  of  First  Board  of  Trustees  581 

Letters  in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  show  that  he  has, 
to  say  the  least,  encouraged  attacks  in  newspapers  of  the  same 
character  as  his  own  articles.  One  letter  is  of  such  a  character 
that  the  person  addressed,  would  have  been  discouraged  by  it 
from  bringing  his  son  here,  had  it  not  been  fortunately  corrected 
by  another  letter  from  a  friend  of  the  Institution  counteracting 
the  impression  conveyed  by  him. 

The  committee  find  that  in  his  effort  to  injure  the  Regent, 
who  in  some  way  has  become  obnoxious  to  him,  he  has,  through 
the  mail  and  otherwise,  given  gratuitous  circulation  to  a  defam- 
atory pamphlet  published  in  Michigan,  a  production  not  worth 
the  attention  of  the  Board,  further  than  to  excite  regret  that  one 
of  its  members  should  become  its  endorser  and  give  it  circulation. 

Your  committee  is  satisfied  from  statements  made,  in  cor- 
roboration of  which  proof  is  offered,  that  Mr.  Dunlap  has  been 
and  yet  remains  hostile  to  the  Regent,  and  seeks  his  removal 
from  his  present  position,  and  made  untiring  efforts  to  embarass 
him,  and  to  bring  the  action  and  measures  of  the  Board  to  dis- 
credit and  failure,  in  order  to  secure  a  change  of  men  and  mea- 
sures suitable  to  his  personal  views.  Whether  so  intended  by  him 
or  not,  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Dunlap  has  been  such  as  might  under 
other  circumstances  have  brought  serious  embarrassments  upon 
the  Institution — thus  sought  to  be  wounded  in  the  house  of  its 
friends. 

Your  committee  however,  do  not  acknowledge  that  the  Insti- 
tution has  received  serious  harm  from  this  source,  being  too 
deeply  planted  in  the  confidence  and  sympathy  of  a  people 
who  cannot  long  be  deceived,  and  under  the  care  of  a  Regent 
and  Board  of  Trustees  who  do  not  yet  appear  to  have  failed  in 
duty  or  been  found  unworthy  their  trust. 

As  the  Regent  has  been  the  most  persistently  assailed,  the 
committee  deem  it  but  just  to  say  that  they  find  nothing  in  the 
history  of  his  official  relation  to  us  that  impairs  in  any  particu- 
lar, that  high  degree  of  confidence  which  induced  the  Board  to 
call  him  to  his  present  duty.  Having  ourselves  laid  out  his  work 
and  instructed  him  how  to  do  it,  it  is  our  duty  as  just  and  honor- 
able men  to  sustain  him,  and  remove  from  his  path  as  far  as  we 
can  every  annoyance. 


582  History  University  of  Illinois 

Your  committee,  especially  with  the  work  of  this  inaugura- 
tion day  80  well  done,  feel  doubly  assured  that  no  efforts  of  un- 
friendly persons,  even  when  members  of  its  Board  of  Trustees 
can  work  no  substantial  harm.  The  delinquency  complained  of 
in  this  case  can  be  safely  treated  with  generous  forbearance,  not 
only  in  deferent  to  the  peculiarities  of  temper  and  obliquity  of 
judgment,  which  in  some  foiTti  affects  even  good  men,  but  to  that 
other  assurance,  that  a  little  time,  a  wise  caution,  and  sufficient 
patience  will  heal  all  wounds  thus  inflicted. 

The  Committee  beg  leave  to  add  here,  that  the  good  people 
of  Champaign  ought  to  be  relieved  from  the  importation  already 
finding  lodgment  in  many  minds  throughout  the  State,  that  they 
in  any  manner  share  or  approve  the  attacks  complained  of.  Their 
munificence  on  fonner  occasions  and  their  magnificent  welcome 
today,  demand  this  grateful  service  at  our  hands. 

Your  Committee  in  conclusion  propose  the  following  resolu- 
tions : — 

Resolved,  that  this  Board  of  Trustees  have  undiminished 
confidence  in  the  integrity,  ability  and  fitness  of  the  Regent,  and 
pledge  him  a  firm  support  in  the  performance  of  his  duties. 

Resolved,  that  the  course  of  study,  and  measures  of  admin- 
istration adopted  shall  receive  a  fair  and  honest  trial,  subject 
to  such  modification  and  change  as  experience  and  due  deliber- 
ation may  require. 

Resolved,  that  public  criticism  and  full  investigation  of  the 
acts  of  this  Board  is  invited,  and  that  this  Board  will  at  all  times 
give  respectful  consideration  to  measures  proposed  in  a  proper 
manner  by  its  members  in  any  matter  seeming  to  require  its 
action. 

Resolved,  that  this  Board  regard  with  disapprobation  the 
conduct  of  M.  L.  Dunlap,  Esq.,  a  member  as  stated  in  the  paper 
submitted  to  this  Committee,  and  in  the  foregoing  report,  and 
consider  the  practices  complained  of  a  departure  from  the  cour- 
tesy of  official  intercourse,  a^  dereliction  of  duty,  offensive  to  the 
Board,  injurious  to  the  community,  and  not  proper  in  one  hold- 
ing a  seat  as  a  member  of  the  Board. 


Resolutions  of  First  Board  of  Trustees  583 

Resolved,  that  his  Excellency,  the  Governor  of  this  State, 
be  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the  record  made  in  this  case. 

M.  BRAYMAN 
J.  S.  JOHNSON 
A.  BLACKBURR 
J.  0.  CUNNINGHAM 
EMORY  COBB 


584  History  University  of  Illinois 


DOCUMENT  NUMBER  26 

Federal  and  State  Laws 
Concerning  the  University  of  Illinois 

THE  LAND  GRANT  ACT  OF  1862. 

AN  ACT  donating  public  land  to  the  several  states  and  terri- 
tories which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agricul- 
ture and  the  mechanic  arts. 

Be  it  enacted  by  tJie  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  assetiihled,  That 
there  be  granted  to  the  several  states,  for  the  purposes  hereinafter 
mentioned,  an  amount  of  public  land,  to  be  apportioned  to  each 
state,  in  quantity  equal  to  30,000  acres  for  each  senator  and 
representative  in  congress  to  which  the  states  are  respectively 
entitled  by  the  apportionment  under  the  census  of  1860 :  Pro- 
vided, That  no  mineral  lands  shall  be  selected  or  purchased  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  2.  And  he  it  furtlier  enacted,  That  the  land  aforesaid, 
after  being  surveyed,  shall  be  apportioned  to  the  several  states 
in  sections  or  sub-divisions  of  sections  not  less  than  one-quarter 
of  a  section ;  and  whenever  there  are  public  lands  in  a  state,  sub- 
ject to  sale  at  private  entiy,  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
per  acre,  the  quantity  to  which  said  state  shall  be  entitled  shall 
be  selected  from  such  lands,  within  the  limits  of  such  state ;  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  is  hereby  directed  to  issue  to  each 
of  the  states,  in  which  there  is  not  the  quantity  of  lands  subject 
to  sale  at  private  entry,  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per 
acre,  to  which  said  state  shall  be  entitled  under  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  land  scrip  to  the  amount  in  acres  for  the  deficiency 
of  its  distributive  share ;  said  scrip  to  be  sold  by  said  states,  and 
the  proceeds  thereof  applied  to  the  uses  and  purposes  pre- 
scribed in  this  act,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  v/hatsoever : 
Provided,  That  in  no  case  shall  any  state  to  which  land  scrip 
may  thus  be  issued,  be  allowed  to  locate  the  same  within  the  limits 
of  any  other  state,  or  of  any  territories  of  the  United  States ;  but 
their  assignees  may  thus  locate  said  land  scrip  upon  any  of  the 
unappropriated  lands  of  the  United  States  subject  to  sale  at 


Laws  Concerning  tJie  Z^niversity  of  Illinois  585 

private  entry,  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  or  less  per 
acre.  And  provided  further,  That  not  more  than  one  million 
acres  shall  be  located  by  such  assignees  in  any  one  of  the  states. 
A7id  provided  further,  That  no  such  locations  shall  be  made  be- 
fore one  year  from  the  passage  of  this  act. 

Sec.  3.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the  expenses  of 
management,  superintendence,  and  taxes  from  date  of  selec- 
tion of  said  lands,  previous  to  their  sales,  and  all  expenses  in- 
curred in  the  management  and  disbursement  of  the  moneys  which 
may  be  received  therefrom,  shall  be  paid  to  the  states  to  which 
they  may  belong,  out  of  the  treasuiy  of  said  states,  so  that  the 
entire  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  said  lands  shall  be  applied, 
without  any  diminution  whatever,  to  the  purposes  hereinafter 
mentioned. 

Sec.  4.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  all  moneys  derived 
from  the  sale  of  lands  aforesaid,  by  the  states  to  which  the  lands 
are  apportioned,  and  from  the  sales  of  land  scrip  hereinbefore 
provided  for,  shall  be  invested  in  stocks  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  the  states,  or  some  other  safe  stocks,  yielding  not  less  than 
5  per  cent  upon  the  par  value  of  said  stocks;  and  that  the  money 
so  invested  shall  constitute  a  perpetual  fund,  the  capital  of  which 
shall  remain  forever  undiminished  (except  so  far  as  may  be 
provided  in  section  five  of  this  act),  and  the  interest  of  which 
shall  be  inviolably  appropriated  by  each  state,  which  may  take 
and  claim  the  benefit  of  this  act,  to  the  endowment,  support,  and 
maintenance  of,  at  least,  one  college,  where  the  leading  object 
shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies, 
and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of  learn- 
ing as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  such 
manner  as  the  legislatures  of  the  states  may  respectively  pre- 
scribe, in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education 
of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions 
in  life. 

Sec.  5.  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  the  grant  of  land 
and  scrip  hereby  authorized,  shall  be  made  on  the  following  con- 
ditions, to  which,  as  well  as  to  the  provisions  hereinbefore  con- 
tained, the  previous  assent  of  the  several  states  shall  be  signified 
by  legislative  acts : 


586  History  University  of  Illinois 

First — If  any  portion  of  the  fund  invested,  as  provided  by 
the  foregoing  section,  or  any  portion  of  the  interest  thereon, 
shall,  by  any  action,  or  contingency,  be  diminished  or  lost,  it 
shall  be  replaced  by  the  state  to  which  it  belongs,  so  that  the 
capital  of  the  fund  shall  remain  forever  undiminished ;  and  the 
annual  interest  shall  be  regularly  applied  without  diminution  to 
the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  fourth  section  of  this  act,  except 
that  a  sum,  not  exceeding  ten  per  centum  upon  the  amount  re- 
ceived by  any  state  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  may  be 
expended  for  the  purchase  of  lands  for  sites  or  experimental 
farms,  whenever  authorized  by  the  respective  legislatures  of 
said  states. 

Second — No  portion  of  said  fund,  nor  the  interest  thereon, 
shall  be  applied,  directly  or  indirectly,  under  any  pretense  what- 
ever, to  the  purchase,  erection,  preservation,  or  repair  of  any 
building  or  buildings. 

Third — Any  state  which  may  take  and  claim  the  benefit  of 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  provide,  within  five  years,  at  least 
not  less  than  one  college,  as  prescribed  in  the  fourth  section  of 
this  act,  or  the  grant  to  such  state  shall  cease;  and  said  state 
shall  be  bound  to  pay  the  United  States  the  amount  received  of 
any  lands  previously  sold,  and  that  the  title  to  purchasers  under 
the  State  shall  be  valid. 

FourtJi — An  annual  report  shall  be  made  regarding  the  pro- 
gress of  each  college,  recording  any  improvements  and  experi- 
ments made,  with  their  cost  and  results ;  and  such  other  matters, 
including  state  industrial  and  economical  statistics,  as  may  be 
supposed  useful ;  one  copy  of  which  shall  be  transmitted  by  mail 
free,  by  each,  to  all  the  other  colleges  which  may  be  endowed  un- 
der the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  also  one  copy  to  the  secretary 
of  the  interior. 

Fifth — When  lands  shall  be  selected  from  those  which  have 
been  raised  to  double  the  minimum  price  in  consequence  of  rail- 
roads grants,  they  shall  be  computed  to  the  states  at  the  maxi- 
mum price,  and  the  number  of  acres  proportionally  diminished. 

Sixth — No  state,  while  in  a  condition  of  rebellion  or  insur- 
rection against  the  government  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
entitled  to  the  benefits  of  this  act. 


Laws  Concerning  tJie  University  of  Illinois  587 

Seventh — No  state  shall  be  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  this  act 
unless  it  shall  express  its  acceptance  thereof  by  its  legislature 
within  two  years  from  the  date  of  the  approval  by  the  President. 

Sec.  6.  And  he  it  furtJier  enacted,  That  land  scrip  issued 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  not  be  subject  to  location 
until  after  the  first  day  of  January,  1863. 

Sec.  7.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  land  officers  shall 
receive  the  same  fee  for  locating  land  scrip  issued  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  as  is  now  allowed  for  the  location  of  mili- 
tary bounty  land  warrants  under  existing  laws:  Provided, 
Their  maximum  compensation  shall  not  be  thereby  increased. 

Sec.  8.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  the  governors  of  the 
several  states  to  which  scrip  shall  be  issued  under  this  act,  shall 
be  required  to  report  annually  to  congress  all  sales  made  of 
such  scrip  until  the  whole  shall  be  disposed  of,  the  amount  re- 
ceived for  the  same,  and  what  appropriation  has  been  made  of 
the  proceeds. 

Approved,  July  2,  1862. 

EXTENSION  OF  TIME 

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  fifth  section  of  an  act  entitled,  ' '  An  act 
donating  public  lands  to  the  several  states  and  territories 
which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture 
and  mechanic  arts,"  approved  July  two,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  so  as  to  extend  the  time  within  which  the 
provisions  of  said  act  shall  be  accepted  and  such  colleges 
established. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Bepresentatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
the  time  in  which  the  several  states  may  comply  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  act  of  July  two,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two, 
entitled,  "An  act  donating  public  lands  to  the  several  states  and 
territories  which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agri- 
culture and  the  mechanic  arts,"  is  hereby  extended  so  that  the 
acceptance  of  the  benefits  of  said  act  may  be  expressed  within 
three  years  from  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  the  colleges  required 
hy  the  said  act  may  be  provided  within  five  years  from  the  date 


588  History  University  of  Illinois 

of  the  filing  of  such  acceptance  with  the  commissioner  of  the  gen- 
eral land  office :  Provided,  That  when  any  territory  shall  become 
a  state  and  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  such  new  state  shall  be 
entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  said  act  of  July  two,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two,  by  expressing  the  acceptance  therein  re- 
quired within  three  years  from  the  date  of  its  admission  into  the 
Union,  and  providing  the  college  or  colleges  within  five  years 
after  such  acceptance,  as  prescribed  in  this  act :  Provided  fur- 
ther, That  any  state  which  has  heretofore  expressed  its  accep- 
tance of  the  act  herein  referred  to,  shall  have  the  period  of  five 
years  within  which  to  provide  at  least  one  college  as  described 
in  the  fourth  section  of  said  act,  after  the  time  for  providing 
said  college,  according  to  the  act  of  July  second,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  shall  have  expired. 
APPROVED,  July  23,  1866. 

LAWS  OF  ILLINOIS 

AN  ACT  accepting  the  donation  of  Public  Lands  from  Congress, 
approved  July  2d,  1862. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  tlie  People  of  tJie  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  Assembly,  That  the  act 
passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  donating  public 
lands  to  the  several  states  and  territories  which  may  provide 
colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  ap- 
proved July  2,  1862,  be  and  the  provisions  therein  contained, 
accepted  by  this  state. 

2.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  Secretary  of  this  state 
inform  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  at  Washington,  that  the 
State  of  Illinois,  through  their  Legislature,  has  accepted  the  dona- 
tion in  said  act. 

APPROVED,  February  14,  1863.  (Sess.  L.,  111.,  1863,  p. 
64.) 

LOCATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

AN  ACT  in  relation  to  the  location  of  the  Industrial  University. 

WHEREAS,  Each  portion  of  the  state  is  alike  interested 
in  the  proper  location  of  said  University,  and  it  is  desirable  to 


Laws  Concerning  tlie  University  of  Illinois  589 

enable  the  public  spirit  of  each  community  or  section  to  fully 
compete  for  such  location ;  therefore 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  iJie  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  Assenibly,  That  any  county, 
city,  township,  or  incorporated  town  of  said  state,  may,  by  tax- 
ation, as  well  as  by  voluntary  subscription  of  its  citizens,  raise 
a  fund  to  secure  the  location  of  said  University  at  any  point 
whatever ;  and  any  other  corporation  in  this  state  may  make  bids 
and  subscriptions  for  the  purpose  of  securing  said  location  at  any 
point  whatever. 

2.  That  any  county,  through  its  county  courts  or  board  of 
supervisors,  and  any  to^\^lship  or  town,  through  its  super\Tisor, 
assessor,  and  collector,  and  any  city  or  incorporated  town, 
through  its  council  or  board  of  aldermen,  or  other  constituted  au- 
thorities, as  the  case  may  be,  may  subscribe  such  sum  or  sums  as 
they  may  deem  necessary,  to  secure  such  location,  and  to  raise  the 
amount  or  amounts  so  subscribed  by  taxation,  or  by  issuing  bonds, 
payable  at  any  seasonable  or  convenient  time,  and  bearing  any 
rate  of  interest  not  exceeding  ten  per  cent  per  annum :  Provided 
however,  that  no  tax  shall  be  levied  for  such  purpose  until  the 
proposition  so  to  raise  a  fund,  together  with  the  amount  to  be 
raised  shall,  after  at  least  ten  days'  notice,  be  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  people  so  to  be  taxed,  and  be  approved  by  a  majority  of  the 
persons  voting  at  such  election :  Provided,  that  the  county  clerk 
of  such  county  shall  order  an  election  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act :  And  provided,  also,  that  it  shall  not  be  ob- 
ligatory on  any  county,  city,  or  town  authorities,  or  county  clerk, 
as  aforesaid,  to  submit  any  such  proposition  to  a  vote  of  the 
people,  unless  at  least  one  hundred  of  the  legal  voters  of  said 
county,  city,  or  town  shall  petition  for  the  same ;  in  which  event 
said  election  or  elections  shall  be  ordered:  And  provided  fur- 
ther, that  any  election  heretofore  held  in  any  county,  city,  or 
toAvn,  for  the  pui^pose  aforesaid,  is  hereby  legalized  and  made 
valid. 

3.  The  county,  city,  or  town  authorities,  as  aforesaid,  are 
hereby  invested  with  full  power  to  make  any  and  all  needful 
orders  and  regulations  to  carry  into  effect  the  foregoing  pro- 
visions, and  in  case  of  an  election  being  applied  for,  as  aforesaid, 


590  History  University  of  Illinois 

it  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  authorities  to  give  the  usual  and  sea- 
sonable notices,  required  by  law,  according  to  this  act,  and  the 
end  in  view,  and  to  conduct  and  report  the  same  in  the  usual  way. 
Such  election  to  be  conducted  and  return  made  according  to  the 
law  governing  elections:  Provided,  that  the  registry  of  votes 
used  at  the  last  general  election  shall  be  the  registiy  for  any  elec- 
tion to  be  held  under  this  act, 

4.     This  act  shall  be  a  public  act,  to  take  effect  and  be  in 
force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

APPROVED,  January  25, 1867.  (Sess.  L.  111.,  1867,  p.  122.) 

ORGANIZATION 

AN  ACT  to  provide  for  the  organization  and  maintenance  of 

the  Illinois  Industrial  University. 

SECTION  I.  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  Assembly,  That  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  governor  of  this  state  within  ten  days  from  the 
passage  of  this  act,  to  appoint  (amended  1873)  five  trustees, 
resident  in  each  of  the  judicial  grand  divisions  of  this  state, 
who,  together  with  one  additional  trustee,  resident  in  each  of  the 
congressional  districts  of  this  state,  to  be  appointed  in  like 
manner,  with  their  associates  and  successors,  shall  be  a  body  cor- 
porate and  politic,  to  be  styled  (amended  1885)  "The  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University;"  and  by  that 
name  and  style  shall  have  perpetual  succession,  have  power  to 
contract  and  be  contracted  with,  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  plead  and 
be  impleaded,  to  acquire,  hold,  and  convey  real  and  personal 
property ;  to  have  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  to  alter  the  same 
at  pleasure ;  to  make  and  establish  by-laws,  and  to  alter  or  repeal 
the  same  as  they  shall  deem  necessary,  for  the  management  or 
government,  in  all  its  various  departments  and  relations,  of  the 
Illinois  Industrial  University,  for  the  organization  and  endow- 
ment of  which  provision  is  made  by  this  act.  Said  appointments 
to  be  subject  to  approval  or  rejection  by  the  senate  at  its  next 
regular  session  thereafter,  and  the  appointees  to  be,  and  they  are 
hereby  authorized  to  act  as  trustees  as  aforesaid,  until  their 
successors  shall  be  appointed  by  the  governor  and  such  appoint- 
ment shall  be  approved  by  the  senate. 


Laws  Concerning  the  University  of  Illinois  591 

2.  The  members  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, shall  hold  their  office  for  the  term  of  six  years  each: 
Provided,  that  at  the  first  regular  meeting  of  said  board,  the 
said  members  shall  determine,  by  lot,  so  that,  as  nearly  as  may 
be,  one-third  shall  hold  their  office  for  two  years,  one-third  for 
four  years,  and  one-third  for  six  years  from  the  first  day  of 
said  meeting.  The  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  senate,  shall  fill  all  vacancies  which  may  at  any  time  occur 
by  expiration  of  tenn  of  office,  or  otherwise,  in  said  board,  by 
appointment  of  suitable  persons  resident  in  the  respective  grand 
divisions  and  congressional  districts  in  which  such  vacancies  may 
occur.  Said  board  of  trustees  may  appoint  an  executive  commit- 
tee of  their  o-vvn  number,  who,  when  said  board  is  not  in  session, 
shall  have  the  management  and  control  of  the  same,  and  for  that 
purpose  have  and  exercise  all  the  powers  hereby  conferred  on 
said  board  which  are  necessary  and  proper  for  such  object. 

3.  In  case  the  board  of  trustees  shall  at  any  time  determine 
to  establish  a  branch  or  department  of  said  university  at  any 
points  elected  by  them,  such  branch  or  department  shall  be 
ander  the  control  of  the  members  of  said  board  residing  in  the 
grand  division  and  congressional  district  where  said  branch  shall 
be  located,  unless  othersvise  ordered  by  said  board  of  trustees: 
Provided,  that  no  portion  of  the  funds  resulting  from  the  con- 
gressional grant  of  land  for  the  endowment  of  said  University, 
or  from  any  donation  now  or  hereafter  to  be  made  by  the  county, 
city,  or  town  at  or  near  which  the  University  is  located ;  and  no 
portion  of  the  interest  or  proceeds  of  either  of  said  funds  shall 
ever  be  applied  to  the  support  of  any  branch  or  department 
located  outside  the  county  wherein  said  University  is  located 
by  this  act. 

4.  The  first  regular  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  shall 
be  held  at  such  place  as  the  governor  may  designate,  on  the  sec- 
ond Tuesday  in  March,  A.  D.  1867,  at  which  meeting  they  shall 
elect  a  regent  of  the  University,  who,  together  with  the  governor, 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and  president  of  the  state 
agricultural  society,  shall  be,  ex-officio,  members  of  said  board 
of  trustees.  Said  regent,  if  present,  shall  preside  at  all  meetings 
of  the  board  of  trustees  and  of  the  faculty,  and  shall  be  charged 


592  History  University  of  Illinois 

with  the  general  supervision  of  the  educational  facilities  and 
interests  of  the  University.  His  term  of  office  shall  be  two  years, 
and  his  compensation  shall  be  fixed  by  the  board  of  tnistees. 

5.  At  the  first,  and  at  each  biennial  meeting  thereafter, 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  to  appoint  a  treasurer,  who  shall 
not  be  a  member  of  the  board,  and  who  shall  give  bonds,  with 
such  security  as  the  board  of  trustees  shall  deem  amply  sufficient 
to  guard  the  University  from  danger  of  loss  or  diminution  of 
the  funds  intrusted  to  his  care.  The  trustees  may  appoint,  also, 
the  corresponding  secretary,  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  under  the 
direction  or  with  the  approval  of  the  trustees,  to  issue  circulars, 
directions  for  procuring  needful  materials  for  conducting  ex- 
periments, and  eliciting  instructive  information  from  persons  in 
various  counties,  selected  for  that  puiT)ose,  and  skilled  in  any 
branch  of  agricultural,  mechanical,  and  industrial  art ;  and  to  do 
all  other  acts  needful  to  enable  him  to  prepare  an  annual  report 
regarding  the  progress  of  the  University,  in  each  department 
thereof — recording  any  improvements  and  experiments  made, 
with  their  costs  and  results,  and  such  other  matters,  including 
state,  industrial,  and  economical  statistics,  as  may  be  supposed 
useful ;  not  less  than  five  thousand  copies  of  which  reports  shall 
be  published  annually,  and  one  copy  be  transmitted  by  said  cor- 
responding secretary,  by  mail,  free  to  each  of  the  other  colleges 
endowed  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  congress,  approved 
July  2,  1862,  entitled  "An  act  donating  lands  to  the  several  states 
and  territories  which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts;"  one  copy  to  the  United 
States  secretary  of  the  interior;  and  one  thousand  copies  to  the 
secretaiy  of  state  of  this  state,  for  the  state  libraiy,  and  for  dis- 
tribution among  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly.  Also, 
a  recording  secretary^  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  keep  faithful 
record  of  the  transactions  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  prepare 
the  same  for  publication  in  said  annual  report.  The  said  trea- 
surer, corresponding  and  recording  secretaries  to  receive  such 
compensation  as  the  trustees  may  fix,  and  to  be  paid  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  teachers  and  other  employees  of  the  University 
are  paid. 

6.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  of  the  Uni- 
versity except  by  order  of  the  board  of  trustees,  on  warrant  of 


Laws  Concernmg  the  University  of  Illinois  593 

the  regent,  drawn  upon  the  treasurer,  and  countersigned  by  the 
recording  secretary. 

7.  The  trustees  shall  have  power  to  provide  the  requisite 
buildings,  apparatus,  and  conveniences;  to  fix  the  rates  for  tu- 
ition; to  appoint  such  professors  and  instructors,  and  establish 
and  provide  for  the  management  of  such  model  fanns,  model  art, 
and  other  departments  and  professorships,  as  may  be  required 
to  teach,  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  such  branches  of  learn- 
ing as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  and 
militaiy  tactics,  without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical 
studies.  They  may  accept  the  endowTnents  of  voluntary  pro- 
fessorships or  departments  in  the  University,  from  any  person 
or  persons  or  corporations  who  may  proffer  the  same,  and,  at 
any  regular  meeting  of  the  board,  may  prescribe  rules  and  regu- 
lations in  relation  to  such  endo\vments  and  declare  on  what  gen- 
eral principles  they  may  be  admitted :  Provided,  that  such 
special  voluntary  endowments  or  professorships  shall  not  be  in- 
compatible with  the  true  design  and  scope  of  the  act  of  congress, 
or  of  this  act;  and  they  shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  arrange  all 
the  regular  and  more  important  courses  of  study  and  lectures  in 
the  University,  so  that  the  students  may  pass  through  and  at- 
tend upon  them  during  the  six  autumn  and  winter  months,  and 
be  left  free  to  return  to  their  several  practical  arts  and  industries 
at  home  during  the  six  spring  and  summer  months  of  the  year, 
or  to  remain  in  the  University  and  pursue  such  optional  studies 
or  industrial  avocations  as  they  may  elect:  Provided,  that  no 
student  shall  at  any  time  be  allowed  to  remain  in  or  about  the 
Univeraity  in  idleness,  or  without  full  mental  or  industrial  occu- 
pation :  And  provided  furtlier,  that  the  trustees,  in  the  exercise 
of  any  of  the  powers  conferred  by  this  act,  shall  not  create  any 
liability  or  indebtedness,  in  access  of  the  funds  in  the  hands  of 
the  treasurer  of  the  University  at  the  time  of  creating  such  lia- 
bility or  indebtedness,  and  which  may  be  specially  and  properly 
applied  to  the  payment  of  the  same. 

8.  No  student  shall  be  admitted  to  instruction  in  any  of  the 
departments  of  the  University  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  fifteen  (15)  years,  and  who  shall  not  previously  un- 
dergo a  satisfactory  examination  in  each  of  the  branches  ordi- 
narily taught  in  the  common  schools  of  the  state. 


594  History  University  of  Illinois 

9.  Each  county  in  this  state  shall  be  entitled  to  one  hon- 
orary scholarship  in  the  University,  for  the  benefit  of  the  des- 
cendants of  the  soldiers  and  seamen  who  served  in  the  armies 
and  navies  of  the  United  States  during  the  late  rebellion — pre- 
ference being  given  to  the  children  of  such  soldiers  and  seamen 
as  are  deceased  or  disabled ;  and  the  board  of  trustees  may,  from 
time  to  time,  add  to  the  number  of  honorary  scholarships,  when 
in  their  judgment,  such  additions  will  not  embarrass  the  finances 
of  the  University;  nor  need  these  additions  be  confined  to  the 
descendants  of  soldiers  and  seamen ;  such  scholarships  to  be  filled 
by  transfer  from  some  of  the  common  schools  of  said  county, 
of  such  pupils  as  shall,  upon  public  examination,  to  be  conducted 
as  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  University  may  determine,  be  de- 
cided to  have  attained  the  greatest  proficiency  in  the  branches 
of  learning  usually  taught  in  the  common  schools,  who  shall  be 
of  good  moral  character,  and  not  less  than  fifteen  (15)  years  of 
age.  Such  pupils,  so  selected  and  transferred,  shall  be  entitled 
to  receive,  without  charge  for  tuition,  instruction  in  any  or  all 
departments  of  the  University  for  a  term  of  at  least  three  (3) 
consecutive  years:  Provided,  said  pupil  shall  conform,  in  all 
respects,  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  University,  estab- 
lished for  the  government  of  the  pupils  in  attendance. 

10.  The  faculty  of  the  University  shall  consist  of  the  chief 
instructors  in  each  of  the  departments.  No  degrees  shall  be 
conferred  nor  diplomas  awarded  by  authority  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  or  of  the  faculty,  except  that  the  trustees,  on  recom- 
mendation of  the  majority  of  the  faculty  may  authorize  the  regent 
of  the  University  to  issue  to  applicants  certificates  of  schol- 
arship, under  the  seal  of  the  University,  which  certificates  shall, 
as  far  as  practicable,  set  forth  the  precise  attainments,  as  ascer- 
tained by  special  examination,  of  the  parties  applying  for  the 
same,  respectively  in  the  various  branches  of  learning  they  may 
have  respectively  studied  during  the  attendance  in  the  Univer- 
sity; and  every  pupil  who  shall  have  attended  upon  instruction 
in  the  University  for  not  less  than  one  year,  maintaining,  mean- 
while, a  good  character  for  faithfulness  in  study  and  correctness 
of  deportment,  and  who  may  desire  to  cease  such  attendance, 
shall  be  entitled  to  receive  such  certificate  of  scholarships  as  is 


Laws  Concerning  the  University  of  Illinois  595 

authorized  by  this  section  to  be  issued.  All  certificates  of  schol- 
arships shall  be  in  the  English  language,  unless  the  pupil  should 
otherwise  prefer;  and  all  names  and  terms  on  labels,  samples, 
specimens,  books,  charts  and  reports  shall  be  expressed,  as  nearly 
as  may  be,  in  the  English  language. 

11.  No  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  shall  receive  any 
compensation  for  attending  on  the  meetings  of  the  board.  At  all 
the  stated  and  other  meetings  of  the  board  of  trustees,  called 
by  the  regent  or  corresponding  secretary,  or  any  five  members  of 
the  board,  a  majority  of  the  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum: 
Provided,  all  the  members  have  been  duly  notified. 

12.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  trustees  to  perma- 
nently locate  said  University  at  Urbana  in  Champaign  county, 
Illinois,  whenever  the  county  of  Champaign  shall,  according  to 
the  proper  forms  of  law,  convey  or  cause  to  be  conveyed  to  said 
trustees,  in  fee  simple,  and  free  from  all  incumbrances,  the  Ur- 
bana and  Champaign  Institute  buildings,  grounds,  and  lands, 
together  with  the  appurtenances  thereto  belonging,  as  set  forth 
in  the  following  offer  in  behalf  of  said  county,  to- wit : 

"The  undersigned,  a  committee  appointed  by  the  board  of 
supervisors  of  Champaign  county,  are  instnicted  to  make  the  fol- 
lowing offer)  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  in  consideration  of  the  per- 
manent location  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  at  Urbana, 
Champaign  county,  viz:  We  offer  the  Urbana  and  Champaign 
Institute  buildings  and  grounds,  containing  about  ten  acres ;  also 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  adjacent  thereto ;  also,  four 
hundred  acres  of  land,  it  being  part  of  section  No.  twenty-one,  in 
township  No.  nineteen,  north,  range  No.  nine  east,  distant  not 
exceeding  one  mile  from  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city  of  Ur- 
bana. 

"Also,  four  hundred  and  ten  (410)  acres  of  land,  it  being 
part  of  section  No.  nineteen,  township  No.  nineteen,  range  No. 
nine  east,  within  one  mile  of  the  buildings  herein  offered. 

' '  Also,  the  donation  offered  by  the  Illinois  Central  Kailroad 
Company  of  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  freight  over  said 
road  for  the  benefit  of  said  University. 

"Also,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  Champaign  county 
bonds,  due  and  payable  in  ten  years,  and  bearing  interest  at 


596  History  University  of  Illinois 

the  rate  of  ten  percent  per  annum,  and  two  thousand  dollars 
in  fruit,  shade,  and  ornamental  trees  and  shrabbery,  to  be  se- 
lected from  the  nursery  of  M.  L.  Dunlap,  and  furnished  at  the 
lowest  catalogue  rates,  making  an  estimated  valuation  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  ($450,000).  Titles  to  be 
perfect,  and  conveyance  to  the  state  to  be  made  or  caused  to 
be  made  by  the  county  of  Champaign,  upon  the  permanent  loca- 
tion of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University  upon  the  said  grounds, 
so  to  be  conveyed  as  aforesaid,  and  we  hereby  in  our  official 
capacity  guarantee  the  payment  of  the  said  bonds  and  the  faith- 
ful execution  of  the  deeds  of  conveyance,  free  from  all  incum- 
brances, as  herein  set  forth. 

W.  D.  SOMERS, 
T.  A.  COSGROVE, 
C.  R.  MOORHOUSE, 

Committee." 

13.  The  board  of  trustees  shall,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  governor  and  adjutant-general,  procure  all  such 
arms,  accoutrements,  books,  and  instruments,  and  appoint  such 
instructors  as  may,  in  their  discretion,  be  required  to  impart  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  military  tactics  and  military  engineering, 
and  they  may  prescribe  a  uniform  dress  to  be  worn  by  the  pupils 
of  the  University. 

14.  That  upon  the  organization  of  the  board  of  trustees 
and  the  appointment  of  said  treasurer,  and  the  filing  with  and 
the  approval  by  said  board  of  the  bond  of  said  treasurer,  and 
all  of  said  foregoing  acts  being  duly  certified  to  the  governor, 
under  the  hand  of  said  regent,  countersigned  by  the  said  record- 
ing secretary,  it  shall  then  become  the  legal  duty  of  said  governor 
to  deliver  over  to  said  treasurer  the  land  scrip  issued  by  the 
United  States  to  this  state,  for  the  endowment  of  said  University, 
and  that  thereupon  it  shall  become  the  duty  of  said  treasurer 
to  sell  and  dispose  of  said  scrip  at  such  time,  place,  in  such  man- 
ner and  quantities,  and  upon  such  terms  as  such  board  shall, 
from  time  to  time,  prescribe,  or  to  locate  the  same  as  said  board 
may  direct.  Said  treasurer  being  in  all  respects  pertaining  to  the 
sale  of  said  scrip,  and  the  reinvestment  of  the  proceeds  received 
therefor,  and  the  securities  when  reinvested,  subject  to  such  order 


Laws  Concerning  the  University  of  Illinois  597 

and  control  of  said  board  as  is  not  inconsistent  with  this  act  and 
the  act  of  congress  providing  for  the  endowment  of  said  Uni- 
versity. 

15.  That  all  the  right,  title,  and  interest  of  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois in  and  to  said  land  scrip,  is  hereby  invested  in  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University,  for  the  use  and  purposes  herein  contained ; 
and  said  scrip  shall  be  assigned  to  said  University  by  the  gover- 
nor of  the  State  of  Illinois  on  each  certificate,  and  attested  by 
the  secretary  of  state  under  the  seal  of  the  state;  and  that  the 
transfer  of  said  scrip  to  purchasers  by  assignment  on  the  back 
thereof,  by  the  said  officers  of  said  University,  under  the  seal 
thereof,  in  manner  following,  shall  be  deemed  sufficient  in  law, 
to- wit : 

STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,     ) 
Illinois  Industrial  University,  \ 

For  value  received,  the  State  of  Illinois  hereby  sells  and 

assigns  to the  within  scrip,  and  authorizes 

to  locate  the  same  and  obtain  a  patent  on  such  location. 

Given  under  our  hands  and  the  seal  of  said  University  this 

day  of A.  D.  186 

Countersigned  by 

E.  F.,  Recording  Secretary, 
A.  B.,  Regent, 
C.  D.,  Treasurer. 

16.  That  upon  said  treasurer  making  sale  of  any  of  said 
scrip,  he  shall  at  once  invest  the  fund  so  received,  report  the  same 
to  the  said  board,  stating  amount  sold,  price  obtained,  and  how 
the  same  was  by  him  invested ;  which  report  shall  be  filed  with  the 
recording  secretary,  who  shall  transmit  a  copy  of  the  same  to 
the  governor  of  said  state,  and  he  to  the  congress  of  the  United 
States,  in  accordance  with  said  act  of  congress. 

17.  That  the  said  board  shall  order  upon  its  minutes  which 
of  the  several  kinds  of  securities  mentioned  in  the  fourth  section 
of  said  act  of  congress  said  treasurer  shall  invest  proceeds  of  sales 
in. 

18.  The  bond  required  to  be  given  by  said  treasurer  shall 
be  conditioned  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  as  trea- 


598  History  University  of  Illinois 

surer  of  the  ' '  Illinois  Industrial  University, ' '  and  for  any  breach 
thereof  suit  may  be  instituted,  in  the  name  of  the  "Illinois 
Industrial  University ; ' '  and  it  shall  be  deemed  a  criminal  offense 
for  any  person  or  persons  holding  in  trast  any  part  of  the  funds 
of  said  University  knowingly  or  negligently  to  misapply  or  mis- 
appropriate the  same,  indictable  in  any  court  having  jurisdiction, 
in  the  same  manner  as  other  crimes  are  punishable,  by  fine  or 
imprisonment,  at  the  discretion  of  the  court,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  offense. 

19.  This  act  shall  be  a  public  act  and  take  effect  and  be 
in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

Approved,  February  28,  1867.  (Session.  L.,  111.,  1867,  p. 
123) 

AN  ACT  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for 
the  organization,  endowment,  and  maintenance  of  the  Illi- 
nois Industrial  University. ' ' 

Section  I.  Be  it  enacted  hy  tJie  People  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois, represented  in  the  General  Assembly,  That  if  the  legal 
authorities  of  the  county  of  Champaign  shall  not,  by  or  before 
the  first  day  of  June,  1867,  convey  or  cause  to  be  conveyed,  to 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  University,  by  a 
good  and  unincumbered  title,  in  fee  simple,  all  the  real  estate 
mentioned  and  contained  in  the  propositions  of  said  county,  and 
which  real  estate  is  described  and  set  out  in  the  act  to  which  this 
act  is  supplemental,  amounting  to  nine  hundred  and  eighty  acres 
of  land,  and  if  said  county  shall  not  also  pay  over  and  deliver 
to  said  trustees,  by  said  day,  all  the  bonds  and  other  property 
offered  by  said  county,  mentioned  in  said  act,  then  said  board  of 
trustees,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  proceed  without  delay  to 
permanently  locate  and  establish  said  industrial  University  in 
McLean,  Logan  or  Morgan  county ;  such  county  so  selected  shall 
in  like  manner  be  required  in  all  things  to  fulfill  and  comply 
with  the  conditions  and  provisions  of  the  offer  heretofore  made  by 
such  county,  as  an  inducement  for  the  location  of  said  University 
in  such  county, 

2.  This  act  shall  be  deemed  a  public  act,  and  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  approval. 

Approved,  March  8,  1867.  (Sess.  L.,  111.,  1867,  p.  130.) 


Petition  to  the  Legislature  599 


DOCUMENT  NUJiCBER  27 

The  following  petition  to  the  legislature,  prepared  by  a  committee  rep- 
resenting the  mechanics  of  Chicago,  was  printed  as  a  separate  document. 

Turner  manuscripts,  university  of  Illinois 

TO  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS. 

The  undersigned  respectfully  represent  unto  your  Honorable 
Body,  as  follows : 

That  at  a  meeting  of  Manufacturers  and  Mechanics,  recently 
held  in  Chicago,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the 
Act  of  Congress,  of  July  2d,  1862,  making  appropriation  of 
Public  Lands  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  Colleges  of  instruc- 
tion in  Agricultural  and  Mechanic  Arts — the  undersigned  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  lay  before  your  Honorable  Body,  in 
some  specific  form,  the  views  and  opinions  there  expressed. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion,  not  only  that 
the  fund  provided  by  Congress  was  susceptible  of  division  so  far 
as  to  permit  of  the  establishment  of  distinct  schools  of  Agricul- 
ture and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  but  that 
the  interests  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanics  alike  demand  that 
such  a  division  should  be  made. 

Many  and  weighty  reasons  were  given  for  this  opinion.  It 
was  believed  that  the  Agricultural  interests  of  the  State  would 
be  best  satisfied  by  the  location  of  an  Agricultural  School  with 
some  reference  to  the  geographical  centre  of  the  State;  on  the 
other  hand,  the  ]\Ieehanic  Arts  were  mainly  practiced  in  and  near 
Chicago.  There  centered  the  whole  Rail  Road  system  of  the 
State  of  Illinois.  There  her  principal  manufacturing  establish- 
ments were  founded.  There  by  far  the  largest  number  of  her 
operatives  had  their  homes.  There  the  capital  of  the  manufac- 
turer was  invested.  In  short,  there  the  head  and  heart  of  the 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  interests  of  the  State  were  lo- 
cated, and  there  for  many  years,  if  not  for  all  time,  they  might 
be  reasonably  expected  to  remain. 

It  was  suggested,  among  other  things,  that  the  undersigned 
should  prepare  the  draft  of  a  Bill,  to  be  laid  before  your  Hon- 
orable Body,  carrying  out  the  design  of  Congress  with  reference 


600  History  University  of  Illinois 

to  the  mechanic  arts,  on  the  principle  of  establishing  distinct 
institutions  for  those  branches  and  for  agricultural  science. 

The  undersigned  felt  deeply  their  incompetence  for  the  task 
imposed  upon  them.  The  subject  was  novel,  it  was  interesting; 
great  interests  depended  upon  the  execution  of  the  work  con- 
signed to  their  hands,  and  as  their  work  should  be  well  or  ill 
done,  might  generations  to  come  have  cause  to  thank,  or  condemn 
them.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  both  natural  and  rea- 
sonable that  the  undersigned  should  seek  elsewhere  that  infor- 
mation which  they  did  not  themselves  possess.  Acting,  therefore, 
upon  what  they  deemed  their  duty  under  the  circumstances,  they 
caused  a  letter  of  inquiry  and  suggestion  to  be  prepared,  some 
thirty  or  more  copies  of  which  were  sent  to  persons  chiefly  dis- 
tinguished for  the  interest  they  had  taken  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion in  general,  and  especially  in  that  relating  to  agricultural  and 
mechanical  science.  Among  these  were  included  the  names  of 
some  of  our  first  statesmen,  scientists,  theoretical  and  practical 
mechanics.  The  length  of  this  letter  alone  precludes  its  insertion 
in  this  place,  but  so  much  of  it  as  is  directly  interrogatory,  will 
here  be  given.  After  propounding  the  general  question,  whether, 
under  the  act  of  Congress,  the  branches  of  agriculture  and  me- 
chanics might  both  be  taught  in  one  and  the  same  institution, 
and  under  a  single  corps  of  instructors,  or  whether  they  were  so 
far  dissimilar  in  character  as  to  be  best  pursued  in  distinct  insti- 
tutions, organized  and  conducted  with  express  reference  to  giv- 
ing instruction  in  the  one  or  the  other  branch  of  study,  as  the 
case  might  be,  the  letter  proceeded  as  follows,  viz. : 

"First — How  extensive  ought  to  be  the  course  of  instrac- 
tion  in  an  institution,  the  design  of  which  is  to  turn  out  scientific, 
practical  mechanics'?  In  other  words,  what  studies,  whether 
principal  or  subsidiary,  should  be  embraced  in  such  a  course  of 
instruction? 

"Second — How  much  time  should  be  allotted  to  the  pupil 
to  complete  a  full  course  of  mechanical  study  1 

"Third — ^Under  what  limitation,  as  regards  age  and  educa- 
tional qualifications,  should  pupils  be  received  into  the  institu- 
tion? 


Petition  to  tJie  Legislature  601 

"Fourth — Would  it  be  advisable,  and  if  so,  under  what 
restrictions,  to  admit  apprentices,  while  serving  as  such  to  the 
benefits  of  the  institution? 

Fifth — How  can  a  thorough,  practical  knowledge  be  best 
imparted  to  the  student,  step  by  step,  as  he  shall  become  master 
of  the  theory  of  mechanics  ? 

"Sixth — Would  a  country  village  or  rural  district  be  a 
more  or  less  eligible  location  for  a  school  of  instruction  in  the 
mechanic  arts,  than  a  populous  town  or  city,  where  manufac- 
turing and  mechanical  pursuits  are  largely  carried  on  ? " 

This  letter  was  dated  so  late  as  December  14,  1864. 

In  due  time  the  undersigned  received  replies  from  the  Hon. 
Henry  Wilson,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs, 
in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  the  Hon.  Wm,  H.  Seward,  the  Hon.  AYm. 
Whiting,  Solicitor  of  the  War  Department,  Gov.  Smith,  of  Rhode 
Island,  Hon.  Erastus  Coming,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  President  HiU, 
Harvard  University,  Hon.  Erastus  Hopkins,  Northampton,  Mass., 
Alfred  S.  Kennedy,  President  of  the  Penn.  Polytechnic  School, 
James  T.  Ames,  Chicopee,  Mass.,  Mechanic,  Gridley  T.  F.  Bryant, 
Boston,  Mass.,  Architect,  the  Hon.  E.  B.  Bigelow,  Boston,  Mass., 
Horatio  Allen,  New  York,  Manufacturer,  Charles  W.  Copeland, 
New  York,  Mechanic,  Ethan  Rogers,  Boston,  Professor  in  the 
School  of  Technology,  E,  W.  Stoughton,  New  York,  Patent  Law- 
yer, J.  H.  Hoadley,  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  Mechanic. 

Most  of  these  letters  came  to  hand  during  the  absence  from 
Chicago  of  two  of  the  undersigned,  which  absence  continued  until 
some  time  after  the  meeting  of  the  present  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature. And  it  is  not  until  this  late  day  that  the  undersigned 
have  had  any  opportunity  of  throwing  their  views  into  precise 
form.  During  the  absence  of  the  undersigned,  as  above  men- 
tioned, they  had  opportunities  for  conversation  with  Commission- 
er HoUoway,  of  the  U.  S.  Patent  Office,  with  Gov.  Andrews  of 
Massachusetts,  with  various  parties  in  Philadelphia,  and  with  a 
number  of  intelligent  persons  at  different  points  between  Chicago 
and  the  city  of  Washington.  From  all  these  sources,  the  opinion 
originally  entertained  by  the  undersigned,  in  favor  of  establish- 
ing distinct  schools  of  instiTiction  for  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts,  was  emphatically  confirmed.     Great  difference  of 


602  .   History  University  of  Illinois 

opinion  was,  indeed,  expressed ;  scarcely  any  two  persons  could 
be  found,  who  agreed  upon  the  details  of  such  an  institution ;  and 
there  were  opposing  views  even  on  the  general  question  as  to 
the  union  of  the  two  branches  of  agriculture  and  mechanics  in 
one  institution,  or  their  separation  into  distinct  schools. 

The  undersigned  understand  it  to  have  been  made  a  question 
by  the  friends  of  agriculture  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  whether  the 
fund  appropriated  by  Congress  could  be  in  any  way  lawfully 
divided,  or  segregated  by  State  action.  For  themselves  they 
never  entertained  a  doubt  of  the  absolute  competence  of  the 
Legislature  to  dispose  of  the  fund  at  its  discretion,  being  re- 
sponsible therefor  to  Congress. 

The  undersigned  do  not  propose  to  submit  any  argument 
in  favor  of  their  opinion,  inasmuch  as  more  weighty  precedent  is 
at  hand.  The  State  of  Massachusetts  has  made  such  a  division, 
giving  a  portion  of  the  fund  allotted  to  her  for  the  establishment 
of  an  agricultural  school,  and  the  remainder  has  been  given  for 
the  endowment  of  an  institute  of  Technology  previously  estab- 
lished in  the  city  of  Boston. 

The  State  of  Rhode  Island  has  transferred  the  whole  fund 
acciniing  to  that  State,  under  the  Act  of  Congress,  to  Brown  Uni- 
versity, her  principal  college.  Other  States  it  is  understood 
have  made  different  dispositions  of  the  fund  allotted  to  them,  all 
of  which  goes  to  show  that  the  whole  matter  of  carrying  out  the 
design  of  Congress  has  been  everywhere  treated  as  resting  in  the 
discretion  of  the  State  Legislatures. 

Assuming,  then,  that  your  Honorable  Body  has  full  author- 
ity to  establish  distinct  institutions  for  agriculture  and  for  the 
mechanic  arts,  and  that  under  proper  circumstances  it  would  be 
advisable  to  exercise  such  a  discretion,  let  us  for  a  moment  en- 
quire whether  these  circumstances  in  fact  exist.  The  fund 
granted  by  Congress  is  not  money,  nor  is  it  readily  convertable 
into  money.  Years  may  and  probably  will  elapse  before  the 
whole  of  it  shall  have  been  converted  and  permanently  invested. 
Ini  the  meantime,  whatever  is  done  towards  the  establishment  of 
one  or  more  institutions  under  the  act  must  be  done  by  the  State, 
unless  individual  beneficence  will  lift  the  burden  from  her,  and 
under  any  circumstance  the  establishment  of  a  single  institution, 


Petition  to  the  Legislature  603 

in  which  the  studies  of  agriculture  and  mechanics  can  be  jointly 
prosecuted,  will  be  the  result  of  years.  Buildings  would  have 
to  be  erected,  repaired,  new  modeled  or  fashioned,  to  meet  the 
wants  of  such  an  institution. 

Model  fanns  would  have  to  be  bought,  and  all  the  appliances 
for  conducting  them,  nor  will  it  probably  be  deemed  judicious  by 
your  Honorable  Body  to  proceed  with  too  gi'cat  haste  in  this 
matter,  lest  the  State  should  become  heavily  involved,  and  at  a 
time  when  she  can  least  afford  it,  in  an  enterprise  which  is  yet 
mainly  experimental  in  its  character,  and  the  results  of  which, 
therefore,  can  neither  be  foreseen  nor  foretold.  Now,  it  will  not 
be  denied,  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  establish  an  institution 
in  which  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  or  either,  may  be 
taught.  The  sooner  such  an  institution  can  be  provided,  and 
the  work  of  instruction  be  commenced,  the  better.  If  it  be 
either  certain  or  probable,  that  much  time  is  likely  to  elapse  be- 
fore a  single  institution,  in  which  both  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts  shall  be  taught,  can  be  established,  and  it  can  be 
shown  that  by  separating  these  branches,  an  institution  can  be 
at  once  easily  and  economically  organized,  for  affording  instruc- 
tion in  the  mechanic  arts,  it  would,  as  it  seems  to  the  undersigned, 
be  an  argument  of  no  little  weight  with  your  Honorable  Body  in 
favor  of  such  a  separation.  Does  such  a  condition  of  things  exist  ? 
The  undersigned  ansvv-er  confidently  in  the  affirmative.  In  Chi- 
cago are  buildings  already  erected,  which  may  be  easily  and 
cheaply  converted  into  suitable  temporary  accommodations  for 
affording  instruction  in  mechanical  science.  Here,  also,  are  an 
abundance  of  pupils,  needing  and  wishing  to  be  taught.  Here 
are  competent  instructors,  and  here,  also,  are  shops  for  practical 
instruction.  Not  three  months  need  elapse  after  the  expiration 
of  the  present  session  of  the  legislature,  before  a  school  of  in- 
struction in  the  mechanic  arts  could  be  established  in  Chicago, 
and  put  fairly  in  the  way  of  a  successful  career.  Nor  must  it 
be  forgotten  that  at  this  time  the  State  is  staggering  under  the 
burden  of  hea\y  taxation ;  that  in  all  probability  the  burden  is 
not  to  grow  lighter,  but  is  to  increase  in  magnitude  in  time  to 
come.  It  therefore  becomes  those  who  have  her  interest  in  charge 
to  avoid,  by  all  reasonable  means,  the  increase  of  additional  ex- 


604  History  University  of  Illinois 

pense,  for  whatever  cause,  and  much  more  in  a  case  where  such 
expense  would  be  superfluous.  The  establishment  of  a  school  for 
mechanical  instruction  elsewhere  than  in  Chicago,  either  alone, 
or  as  part  of  a  broader  institution,  to  include  the  study  of  agri- 
culture, would  necessarily  occasion  a  large  expenditure.  Here 
everything  is  in  readiness  to  proceed.  It  has  been  already  sug- 
gested, that  the  State  must  advance  the  means  to  put  whatever 
institution  is  established  in  operation,  and  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten by  the  friends  of  agriculture,  that  by  so  much  less  as  it 
will  cost  to  establish  a  mechanical  institution  in  Chicago,  by  so 
much  more  will  it  be  in  the  ability  of  the  State  to  advance  the 
means  of  promoting  that  branch  of  study  which  relates  pecu- 
liarly to  them. 

The  undersigned,  at  the  outset  of  this  paper,  had  it  in  mind 
to  state,  first :  some  of  their  reasons  for  the  establishment  of  two 
distinct  institutions  for  the  several  branches  of  agriculture  and 
mechanics,  and  then  to  give  some  further  reasons  why  a  school 
for  the  latter  branch  should  be  located  in  Chicago.  This  would 
have  been  the  natural  division  of  the  subject,  but  the  under- 
signed,  especially  under  the  necessitated  haste  in  which  this 
paper  is  prepared,  find  it  impossible  to  maintain  this  distinction. 

It  will  be  found  that  the  reasons  themselves  intermingle  and 
over-lap  each  other;  almost  every  reason  that  can  be  suggested 
in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  distinct  institutions  for  the 
separate  branches  of  agriculture  and  mechanics,  will  also  be 
found  to  be  a  reason  for  locating  the  mechanical  school  at  Chi- 
cago. 

Without  attempting,  therefore,  further,  to  preserve  a  dis- 
tinction which  they  find  impossible  to  keep  constantly  in  view, 
the  undersigned  will  proceed  to  give  such  other  reasons  as  occur 
to  them,  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  a  distinct  school  of 
mechanics  at  Chicago. 

It  is  a  matter  of  no  small  consequence  to  the  interests  of 
the  State,  that  the  institution,  wherever,  or  under  whatever 
auspices  established,  should  become  self-supporting,  or  at  least 
at  the  earliest  practicable  moment  approximate  that  point ;  now 
is  there  any  place  in  the  State  of  Illinois  at  all  comparable  to 
Chicago  in  this  respect  ?    Here  are  the  greatest  number  of  pupils. 


Petition  to  the  Legislature  605 

and  they  belong,  chiefly,  to  that  class  who  are  engaged  in  some 
capacity  in  mechanical  pursuits,  -while  in  a  majority  of  instances, 
through  the  aid  of  parents,  friends,  or  employers,  they  can 
obtain  the  means  of  paying  a  reasonable  tuition  for  attendance 
upon  a  school  located  at  their  own  homes,  and  where  expenses  of 
livelihood  are  merely  nominal ;  they  could  by  no  means  afford  to 
leave  their  employment,  go  to  a  distance,  and  defray  all  the 
expenses  incident  to  a  residence  away  from  home,  while  attending 
a  course  of  instruction.  Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  the  under- 
signed are  here  drawing  an  invidious  line  in  favor  of  the  Chicago 
mechanics.  Nowhere  else  in  the  state  can  a  school  be 
located  at  the  doors  of  a  large  number  of  mechanics.  No  other 
town  is  so  largely  engaged  in  enterprises  which  call  for  mechani- 
cal labor.  As  a  natural  consequence,  the  mechanics  outside  of 
Chicago  will  have  to  go  abroad  to  obtain  instraction,  and  consid- 
ered in  reference  to  the  whole  State,  it  may  be  safely  asserted 
that  there  is  no  place  so  easily  and  readily  accessible  to  the 
country  mechanic  as  Chicago ;  while  here  he  will  enjoy  superior 
opportunities  of  acquiring  practical  experience,  and  of  obtaining 
emplojTnent  pending  his  studies,  or  at  their  conclusion. 

There  is  still  another  important  consideration,  as  it  seems  to 
the  undersigned,  why  the  mechanical  department  should  be  lo- 
cated at  Chicago.  It  is  this :  it  is  the  design  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress to  impart  instruction  to  the  practical  mechanic.  It  was 
for  his  benefit  that  the  grant  was  made.  Practical  instruction 
was  the  great  object  aimed  at  in  both  branches.  Merely  theoreti- 
cal knowledge  is  at  all  times  and  everywhere  within  reach  of  the 
rich.  Now,  men  generally  commence  a  vocation  from  some  na- 
tural taste  or  inclination  for  it.  Here  in  Chicago  it  is  proposed 
to  take  the  apprentice  and  the  young  mechanic  and  put  him  to 
school.  He  does  not  leave  his  business  even  while  pursuing  his 
studies,  and  when  they  shall  have  been  completed,  the  State  will 
have  some  guarantee  that  he  will  remain  a  mechanic  still.  It 
must  be  ob\aous  to  every  one,  that  the  further  an  institution 
is  removed  from  this  class  of  persons,  and  the  more  difficulty 
in  their  way  of  access  to  it,  the  greater  will  be  the  proportion 
of  those  students,  who,  with  abundant  means,  are  looking  to  a 
thorough  scientific  education,  rather  with  the  view  to  becoming 


606  History  Uyiivcrsity  of  Illinois 

instructors,  or  to  their  own  accomplishment  in  the  arts,  than 
with  any  design  of  engaging  in  practical  pursuits.  From  their 
education  the  State  would  derive  little  service,  while  from  the 
instruction  of  the  practical  mechanic,  her  wealth  and  resources 
would  be  everywhere  multiplied  and  enlarged. 

There  are  still  other  considerations  in  favor  of  separating 
agriculture  from  mechanics,  in  a  course  of  instruction.  It  will 
generally  be  found  that  those  persons  who  have  a  natural  bent 
towards  mechanical  callings,  or  who  have  made  any  considerable 
proficiency  in  mechanical  pursuits,  will  be  totally  averse  to  the 
labors  of  the  farm.  They  can  neither  comprehend  nor  interest 
themselves  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  culture  of  the  soil,  to  the 
raising  of  fruit,  the  breeding  of  stock,  or  the  like.  Their  minds 
constantly  run  upon  machinery,  and  the  different  kinds  of  handi- 
craft. They  Avould  derive  very  little  benefit  from  the  opportunity 
of  pursuing  an  agricultural  course  of  instruction,  and  if  forced 
to  go  through  one,  it  might  safely  be  predicted  that  they  would 
acquire  habits  of  idleness,  insubordination  to  the  college  author- 
ity, and  other  not  less  pernicious  habits,  which  would  extend 
even  to  the  hindrance  of  their  progress  of  the  study  in  mechan- 
ical science.  Besides,  a  school  devoted  exclusively  to  the  me- 
chanic arts,  Avould,  as  a  general  rule,  be  superintended  by  abler 
instructors ;  a  more  thorough  course  of  instniction  would  be  pur- 
sued, and  the  pupil  would  consequently  attain  a  greater  degree 
of  proficiency  than  if  his  mind  were  distracted  by  enforced 
attention  to  diverse  and  uncongenial  studies. 

Concentration  does  not  mean  aggregation,  nor  even  union, 
but  implies  the  direction  of  one 's  attention  to  a  single  point,  and 
so  long  as  the  world  continues  as  it  now  is,  divided  into  manifold 
pursuits,  anything  approaching  a  universal  education  is  a  sheer 
impossibility,  and  it  is  confidently  believed  that,  with  the  farther 
progress  of  society,  the  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the  arts 
and  sciences  will  continue  to  increase,  and  courses  of  instruction 
be  thereby  multiplied.  The  undersigned  are  well  aware  that 
the  friends  of  the  agricultural  interests  may  object  to  the  separa- 
tion of  these  two  branches  of  study,  on  the  ground  that  the  agri- 
cultural student  ought  not  to  be  deprived  of  an  opportunity  to 
instruct  himself  in  the  mechanic  arts ;  but  let  it  be  asked  for  what 


Petition  to  tJie  Legislature  607 

purpose  is  this  instruction  sought?  If  he  desires  it  as  merely 
incidental  to  his  agricultural  education,  then  it  may  be  answered, 
that  all  he  needs  can  be  readily  given  him  by  any  competent 
instructor  in  the  agricultural  department.  If  he  wants  more 
than  this,  then  he  wishes  to  become  a  mechanic,  and  his  proper 
place  is  not  in  an  agricultural,  but  a  mechanical  school.  In  the 
State  of  Illinois,  the  farmer  buys  from  the  manufacturer  or  the 
merchant,  as  they  come  from  the  hands  of  the  mechanic,  every 
considerable  tool  and  implement  of  the  fami.  As  a  practical 
farmer,  his  knowledge  will  be  complete  when  he  knows  how  to 
use  these  tools  and  implements,  and  keep  them  in  proper  order. 
On  the  more  important  of  them,  such  as  threshing  machines, 
reaping  and  raking  machines,  plows,  harrows  and  the  like,  he 
will  find  it  necessary  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  mechanic,  even  for 
the  purpose  of  ordinary  repairs.  No  one  will  contend  that  it  is 
within  the  competence  of  farmers  in  general  to  keep  and  main- 
tain a  blacksmith's,  carpenter's,  or  painter's  shop  upon  their 
premises,  or  would  find  it  useful  to  do  so,  if  within  their  power. 
Besides,  it  is  confidently  submitted  that  enough  is  already  known, 
which  pertains  exclusively  to  agi'icultural  science,  as  discovered 
and  methodised  in  the  last  fifty  years,  to  occupy  as  much  time 
in  the  acquirement  of  it,  as  a  majority  of  young  men,  expecting 
to  become  practical  farmers,  can  afford  to  bestow  on  studies  of 
a  preliminary  character. 

But  there  is  one  main  argument  in  favor  of  the  division  of 
these  two  branches  of  study  into  distinct  institutions,  which  has 
not  yet  been  distinctly  developed.  If  a  single  institution  only 
be  established,  and  it  be  located  with  special  reference  to  the  sup- 
posed wishes  of  the  friends  of  agriculture,  or  away  from  any 
point  where  mechanical  pursuits  are  largely  carried  on,  the  me- 
chanical department,  so  far  as  practical  instruction  is  concerned, 
must  prove  an  absolute  failure.  No  one  will  pretend  that  the 
State,  now  or  for  years  to  come,  will  have  means  to  lavish  in  the 
erection  of  machine  shops  and  the  purchase  of  machinery  and 
other  appliances  for  working  the  same,  even  for  the  purpose  of 
satisfactory  illustration  or  experiment.  The  outlay  therefor 
would  be  immense,  and  what  might  be  considered  the  annual 
loss,  such  as  interest  on  the  investment,  injuiy  to  and  wear  and 


608  History  University  of  Illinois 

tear  of  machinery,  would  swell  this  sum  to  extravagant  pro- 
portions. For  all  this  expenditure  the  State,  or  its  representa- 
tive, the  institution,  would  receive  as  its  sole  compensation  the 
fees  or  tuition  advanced  by  the  students  in  attendance.  No  sa- 
gacious man  can  for  a  moment  suppose  that  such  a  shop  could  be 
converted  into  a  manufactory  of  costly  implements  or  machinery. 

What  Railroad  company  would  seek  such  an  establishment 
at  which  to  buy  a  locomotive?  "What  manufacturer  would  go 
there  to  purchase  an  engine  of  any  kind?  The  work  might  be 
well  done,  but  it  would  have  the  stigma  of  experimental  practice 
resting  on  it. 

Under  such  circumstances,  therefore,  and  without  those  aids 
to  practical  instruction,  the  mechanical  student  in  such  single 
institution  could  acquire  nothing  but  theory,  and  he  would  at 
last  be  obliged  to  resort  to  some  shop  where,  beginning  with  the 
first  rudimental  principles,  he  could  go  through  his  whole  course 
of  studies  before  the  world  would  acknowledge  him  or  he  could 
justly  claim  to  be  a  competent  mechanic. 

A  model  shop,  at  all  adequate  to  the  purposes  of  affording 
practical  instruction,  could  by  no  reasonable  possibility  be  self- 
supporting.  Of  all  kinds  of  business,  manufacturing,  when 
largely  carried  on,  is  perhaps  the  most  hazardous,  and  nothing 
short  of  the  strong  incentive  of  personal  gain  can  render  it  suc- 
cessful. 

All  these  objections  are  at  once  obviated  by  locating  the 
mechanical  department  at  Chicago.  Here  the  actual  supersedes 
the  model  machine  shop.  And  by  as  much  as  responsible  labor 
under  the  eye  and  direction  of  a  competent  master,  is  superior 
to  experimental  practice  under  the  advice  of  an  instructor,  by  so 
much  would  the  shops  of  Chicago  be  superior  to  the  model 
establishments  of  a  preliminary  school  of  instruction. 

Hitherto  the  undersigned  have  spoken  for  themselves.  But 
they  are  not  Avithout  authorities,  some  of  which  they  propose  to 
submit. 

In  his  letter  to  the  undersigned,  J.  H.  Hoadley,  one  of  the 
first  practical  mechanics  and  machinists  in  Massachusetts,  says : 

''If  conveniently  located    (the  Mechanical  School),  much 


Petition  to  the  Legislature  609 

i<,ood  may  be  done  by  admitting  apprentices  to  an  evening 
school. ' ' 

Could  this,  let  it  be  asked,  be  practicable,  if  the  mechanical 
department  were  located  elsewhere  than  Chicago?  Continuing, 
Mr.  Hoadley  says : 

''Practical  knowledge  can  best  be  conveyed  by  actual 
practice  and  example.  Eastman's  Commercial  College  at  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York,  is  an  example  of  this.  Every  branch  of  com- 
mercial occupation  being  seriously  and  practically  carried  on 
in  the  ordinary  working  of  the  College.  What  the  moot  court  is 
to  the  law^^er,  what  clinical  lectures  in  the  Hospital  are  to  the 
physician,  that  is  the  laboratory  and  workshop  to  the  young 
mechanic,  and  the  model  farm  to  the  young  agriculturist. ' ' 

And  upon  the  two  points  of  the  separation  of  the  several 
branches  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanics  into  separate  institutions, 
and  the  location  of  the  mechanical  department,  Mr.  Hoadley  says : 

"For  separate  special  schools,  ivliicJi  seem  most  desirable, 
the  best  location  for  the  school  of  agriculture  would  be  on  a  farm 
of  suitable  size,  near  a  large  city.  *  *  *  *  x-,^^  ^j^g  ]3ggt 
location  for  the  school  of  mechanics  would  be  in,  or  at  least  quite 
close  to,  a  large  and  business  city,  where  w^orkshops  would  fur- 
nish constant  objects  of  study,  and  opportunities  for  applying 
acquired  knowledge,  and  where  rising  blocks,  and  monuments 
would  illustrate  whole  volumes  of  technology. ' ' 

And  in  confirmation  of  the  idea  already  advanced  by  the 
undersigned,  in  regard  to  the  greater  excellence  of  the  instruc- 
tion in  the  several  departments  of  agriculture  and  mechanics, 
and  after  speaking  of  different  studies,  common  to  both  these 
branches,  Mr.  Hoadley  says : 

"Yet  the  more  perfect  the  special  instruction  in  each  school, 
tlie  more  marked  would  he  tlie  divergence,  not  only  of  the  objects 
of  study,  hut  of  the  modes  of  treatment  and  illustration  proper 
to  each,  in  those  very  sciences  which  were  a  common  topic  of 
instruction  to  both." 

In  the  same  letter  Mr.  Hoadley  gives,  in  tabular  foi*m,  the 
studies  in  such  a  course  of  mechanical  and  agricultural  instruc- 
tion, as  he  would  recommend.    From  which  it  appears  that  con- 


610  History  University  of  Illinois 

siderably  less  than  one-third  of  those  studies  are  common  to 
both  branches. 

In  his  letter  to  the  undersigned,  Charles  W,  Copeland,  of 
New  York,  also  an  accomplished  mechanic  and  machinist,  on 
the  point  of  admitting  apprentices  to  the  mechanical  school,  says : 

"By  all  micans  afford  apprentices  the  opportunities  of  pur- 
suing any  portion  of  the  course  of  studies  they  may  desire.  One 
reason  is,  that  as  a  rule,  we  may  assume  that  apprentices  have 
commenced  mechanical  pursuits  from  a  love  of  them,  and  that 
taste,  with  the  ambition  that  he  would  probably  have  to  excel, 
would  lead  him  to  appreciate  and  improve  the  advantages  pre- 
sented to  the  fullest  extent,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  many 
of  your  most  accomplished  and  successful  graduates  will  be  from 
this  class. ' ' 

On  the  point  of  combining  theory  with  practice,  Mr.  Cope- 
land  further  says :  ' '  Thorough  knowledge  can  best  be  imparted 
by  combining  the  theoretical  study  with  practical  application, 
either  by  having  a  workshop  connected  Avith  the  institution,  or 
so  locating  the  school  that  the  pupil  can  have  ready  access  to 
shops  where  actual  work  is  being  executed  on  a  large  scale." 

In  his  letter  to  the  undersigned.  Prof.  Kogers,  on  the  point 
of  admitting  apprentices  to  the  benefits  of  a  mechanical  school, 
says: 

' '  The  apprentice  system,  in  connection  with  the  educational, 
is  doubtless  indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  institution,  as 
without  it  it  can  be  of  little  or  no  practical  benefit  to  the  me- 
chanical world,  and  would  simply  be  a  nice  place  for  that  class 
of  young  men  who  have  only  the  money  qualification,  without  the 
energy  or  the  intellect,  to  succeed  in  the  more  popular  professions 
of  the  day,  and  I  would  as  soon  think  of  employing  a  theoretical 
tailor,  without  practice,  to  make  a  coat,  as  a  theoretical  engineer 
under  the  same  circumstances  to  build  an  engine." 

In  his  letter  to  the  undersigned,  Mr.  Jas.  T.  Ames,  of  Chick- 
opee,  Mass.,  on  the  point  of  affording  instruction  to  the  practical 
mechanic,  says: 

' '  I  think  an  arrangement  to  admit  pupils  for  short  periods 
to  assist  in  special  departments  where  information  is  needed,  will 
greatly  aid  the  practical  mechanic  who  may  be  deficient  (in  theo- 


Petition  to  the  Legislature  611 

retical  knowledge),  but  who  has  the  ability  and  will  use  the  op- 
portunity to  great  profit  if  within  his  reach. ' ' 

But  if  all  other  authorities  were  wanting  upon  this  point  of 
combining  theory  with  practice,  that  of  Governor  Smith,  of 
Rhode  Island,  who  speaks  from  a  high  stand  point,  and  from 
long  and  intimate  business  experience,  would  suffice.  In  his 
letter  to  the  undersigned,  he  says : 

"  I  do  not  know  how  I  can  better  answer  your  questions  than 
by  stating  generally  the  result  of  my  observation  and  experience, 
which  is  this :  that  no  course  of  instruction  can  be  devised  which 
shall  make  scientific  practical  mechanics.  You  may  make  scien- 
tific practical  mechanics  of  simple  practical  mechanics,  by  afford- 
ing them  proper  educational  facilities.  The  habits  of  labor  and 
the  mechanical  genius  you  must  find  to  educate,  and  you  can 
only  find  tlieni  in  tlie  ivorksliop;  stimulate  them,  encourage  them, 
and,  by  enlarging  their  sphere  of  thought,  elevate  the  profession, 
and  you  accomplish  the  result  you  justly  deem  of  the  highest  im- 
portance. ' ' 

The  undersigned  do  not  propose  to  waste  words  in  reviewing 
the  authorities  already  given.  Let  it  suffice  to  say,  that  they 
abundantly  confirm  the  opinion  the  undersigned  have  expressed, 
in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  a  separate  institution  for  im- 
parting instruction  in  the  mechanic  arts. 

But  the  undersigned,  in  prosecuting  their  inquiries,  received 
two  letters,  both  from  men  of  great  eminence  in  the  literary  and 
scientific  world,  which  advocate  an  opposite  view,  and  prefer  the 
union  of  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  departments  in  one 
institution.  The  first  is  from  President  Hill,  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity. Something  of  his  ideas  of  the  institution  he  would  recom- 
mend to  be  established,  may  be  gained  by  the  following  extract 
from  his  letter  to  them.    He  says : 

* '  Do  not  be  anxious  to  have  a  school  with  many  pupils,  and 
whose  practical  benefits  shall  be  at  once  apparent,  but  rather 
found  a  school  which  shall  combine  the  best  and  highest  features 
of  the  Massachusetts  Institution  of  Technology,  the  Pennsylvania 
Agricultural  College,  and  of  all  European  institutions  in  one, 
and  from  which  shall  presently  flow  the  highest  results  of  science, 
such  as  we  now  expect  only  from  the  universities  of  Europe." 


612  History  University  of  Illinois 

Are  your  Honorable  Body  prepared,  especially  with  a  view 
to  the  present  and  prospective  financial  resources  of  the  State,  to 
undertake  an  enterprise  so  vast  in  its  character,  and  the  results 
of  which  are  so  remote  and  problematical  ?  Are  you  at  this  time 
prepared  to  establish  among  our  busy,  thriving,  but  greatly 
taxed  population,  the  foundations  of  a  University  as  broad  as 
that  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  in  England  !  For,  let  it  be  borne 
in  mind  that  President  Hill,  in  this  same  letter,  recommends  that 
the  entire  Congressional  appropriation  falling  to  Illinois,  should 
be  transferred,  by  way  of  endo\vment,  to  some  college  already 
in  existence.  In  short,  is  your  Honorable  Body,  and  are  the  peo- 
ple of  Illinois  willing  to  establish  and  endow  a  University  wherein 
all  science  shall  be  taught,  and  from  that  which  relates  to  the 
simplest  rule  in  mechanical  art  to  the  highest  principle  in  the 
science  of  government?  Such  an  institution  would  be  a  grand 
normal  school  for  the  education  of  instructors  and  for  affording 
an  asylum,  and  the  means  of  pursuing  their  studies,  to  scientific 
men.  This  would  be  a  good  thing,  but  is  it  practicable  ?  Does  it 
fall  within  the  design  of  Congress  in  making  the  appropriation  1 
Does  it  accord  with  the  views  of  our  people,  or  the  spirit  of  the 
age  in  which  we  live?  The  undersigned  confidently  believe  that 
all  these  questions  must  be  answered  in  the  negative. 

The  next  and  last  letter  from  which  any  extract  will  be 
given  is  that  of  the  Hon.  Erastus  Hopkins,of  Northampton, 
Mass.  Something  of  his  views  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
extracts.    He  says: 

"It  is  therefore  vain  to  suppose  that  an  institution  can  be 
established  for  instruction  in  the  mechanical  arts  or  in  agricul- 
ture, to  which  large  numbers  may  go,  and  in  any  reasonable  time 
be  turned  out  accomplished  farmers  or  sldllful  artisans.  The 
advantages  of  such  an  institution  will  be  found  to  consist  in  set- 
ting apart  a  corps  of  able  and  proficient  men  in  the  various 
departments  of  science  connected  Avith  and  subservient  to  the 
great  agricultural,  manufacturing  and  mechanical  interests  of 
a  people  furnishing  them  (the  instructors)  with  all  the  means 
and  appliances  requisite  for  prosecuting  scientific  researches  and 
experiments  in  their  respective  departments  of  knowledge.  The 
masses  have  but  little  time  or  opportunity  and  less  tact  at  such 


Petition  to  the  Legislature  613 

investigations,  and  almost  no  means  at  their  disposal,  for  such 
costly  experiments  and  investigations.  Farmers  will  ever  con- 
tinue as  in  times  past,  to  be  educated  on  farms,  and  mechanics 
must  ever  continue  to  serve  their  apprenticeships  in  work  shops. 
Science  may  hand  over  to  them  such  beneficial  results  as  may 
have  been  submitted  to  practical  tests  and  reduced  to  practical 
use." 

Here,  at  last,  we  have  the  idea  unequivocally  expressed  that 
such  an  institution  of  learning  as  ]\Ir.  Hopkins  contemplates,  is 
designed  rather  for  the  benefit  of  the  instructor  than  of  the 
instructed.  He  would  make  of  it  a  great  seat  of  learning,  where 
scientific  men  might  pursue  their  investigations,  and  from  thence 
send  forth  the  results  they  achieve,  to  enlighten  and  bless  man- 
kind. He  is  hopeless  of  any  attempt  at  the  direct  elevation  of  the 
industrial  classes.  They  are  to  benefit  by  science,  only  at  second 
hand,  and  at  vast  distances  as  does  the  world  at  large  by  the  dis- 
coveries of  Watts,  and  the  invention  of  the  magnetic  telegraph. 
Here,  again,  we  ask,  is  all  this  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
age?  Substantially  the  same  plan  recommended  by  President 
Hill,  and  endorsed  by  Mr.  Hopldns,  was  approved  by  Gov.  An- 
drews, of  Massachusetts,  and  submitted  by  him  in  his  message 
to  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  when  the  question  of  disposing 
of  the  Congressional  appropriation  came  before  it.  The  Legisla- 
ture differed  with  the  Governor  in  opinion,  and  gave,  as  already 
stated,  a  portion  of  the  grant  to  the  endowment  of  an  agricultural 
school,  and  transferred  the  balance  to  the  Boston  Institute  of 
Technology. 

It  were,  perhaps,  to  be  wished  that  in  any  great  community 
like  that  of  the  State  of  Illinois  some  institution  might  exist  like 
that  contemplated  by  President  Hill  and  Mr.  Hopkins.  But  it  is 
in  accordance  not  only  with  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  but  to 
the  sense  of  justice  of  our  people,  to  look  first  and  foremost  to  the 
direct  wants  of  the  individual.  We  cannot  bear  to  see  immense 
sums  lavished  in  the  erection  of  magnificent  edifices  and  the  pur- 
chase of  costly  libraries  in  order  that  a  few  men  may  pursue  their 
scientific  investigations  while  all  around  them  thousands  are  suf- 
fering for  their  daily  bread.  Our  people  would  not  tolerate 
Louis  XIV.,  the  magnificent  king,  the  patron  of  learning,  with  his 


614  History  University  of  Illinois 

million  subjects  subsisting  on  black  bread  and  a  morsel  of  cheese. 
On  the  contrary,  we  think  the  many  may  be  directly  reached, 
individually  taught,  and  placed  on  a  higher  and  nobler  plane  in 
the  scale  of  humanity  and  of  enlightened  society. 

All  about  us,  manufacturers  and  employers  of  mechanical 
labor,  in  general,  are  complaining  of  the  gross  want  of  skill  in 
their  professions,  of  a  great  number  of  those  whom  they  employ. 
Can  nothing  be  done  to  remedy  the  defect  ?  We  think  there  can 
be,  and  it  is  this  class  that  the  undersigned  propose  to  reach  by 
the  institution  which  they  ask  your  Honorable  Body  to  establish. 

So  of  the  farmer.  His  sons  can  read  and  write,  in  fact  pos- 
sess a  good  common  school  education.  Can  nothing  be  done  still 
farther  to  qualify  them  for  the  most  useful  pursuits  of  agricul- 
ture? We  think  there  can  be.  Congress  evidently  thought  that 
both  the  agriculturalist  and  mechanic  might  be  individually 
reached,  educated  and  elevated,  and  themselves  and  the  State 
thereby  benefited,  and  it  is  with  this  view  that  the  undersigned 
now  ask  your  Honorable  Body  to  establish,  in  Chicago,  a  distinct 
institution  in  which  whatever  pertains  to  the  mechanic  arts  may 
be  taught.  They  desire  it  not  as  citizens  of  Chicago,  nor  because 
it  will  especially  benefit  that  place,  but  because  they  firmly  believe 
it  will  be  most  for  the  interests  of  the  class  of  mechanics  through- 
out the  State. 

They  entertain  no  jealousy  towards  any  other  locality,  and 
they  have  none  but  feelings  of  the  utmost  respect  and  kindness 
towards  the  friends  of  agriculture.  But  let  it  be  recollected  that 
whatever  benefits  the  mechanic,  benefits  the  farmer.  With  more 
mechanical  skill,  the  farmer  gets  a  better  machine  or  implement, 
and  at  a  lower  price.  With  the  advance  of  knowledge,  compe- 
tition increases,  more  and  better  labor  is  performed,  in  the  same 
time,  and  there  is  also  a  greater  consumption,  because  more  use 
for  the  products  of  the  soil.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  fanner  conduces  to  the  wealth  of  the  manufacturer  and 
mechanic.  With  success  in  agriculture,  more  and  better  imple- 
ments are  in  demand,  and  as  the  farmer 's  means  increase,  so  will 
his  wants  be  multiplied;  let  there  be,  then,  no  rivalry  between 
him  and  the  mechanic.  Their  true  interests  are  inseparable — 
neither  can  suffer  without  also  occasioning  injury  to  the  other. 


Petition  to  tlie  Legislature  615 

Entertaining  these  views,  the  undersigned  respectfully  ask  your 
Honorable  Body  to  give  effect  to  the  opinion  herein  expressed,  if, 
in  your  discretion,  it  shall  seem  meet,  and  to  that  end  to  pass  a 
law  establishing  an  institution  for  instruction  in  the  mechanic 
arts  at  Chicago,  to  carry  out,  in  part,  the  provision  of  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  July  2d,  1862. 

And  the  undersigned,  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray,  etc. 
I,IYI10N  C.  PARSONS, 
IRA  Y.  MUNN,  J.  Committee. 

THOS.  W.  BAXTER, 
Chicago,  Jan,  28th,  1865. 


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G18 


History  of  tlie  University  of  Illinois 


DOCUMENT  NUjMBER  29 

The  Land  Grant  Colleges 
By   courtesy   of   Benjamin   P.   Andrews 


Name  of   Institutioii 


Agr. Col- 
lege sepa- 
rate from 
StateUniv. 
One  State 
Institution 


Date  of 

organization 

of  the 

institution 


Date  of 

opening  of  tlie 

institution 

to  students 


Date  of 

receipt  of 

1862    land 

grant  fund. 


Alabama    Polytechnic   Institute 

University   of   Arizona 

University  of  Arkansas 

University  of  California 

Colorado    Agricultural    College 
Connecticut    Agricultural    Col- 
lege   

Delaware  College 

University  of  Florida 

University  of  Georgia  (1)  .  .  .  . 

University  of  Idaho 

University  of  Illinois 

Purdue  University,   Indiana.  . 
Iowa  State  College  of  A.  &  M. 

Arts 

Kansas  State  Agricultural  Col- 
lege  (3) 

State   University    of    Kentucky 
Kentucky   Normal   and   Ind. 

Inst.  '(Colored)    

Louisiana  State  Un.   &  Ag.   & 

Mech.  College 

University  of  Maine 

Maryland  Agricultural   College 
Massachusetts    Inst,    of    Tech- 
nology   

Massachusetts   Agricultural 

College 

Michigan  Agricultural   School 

University  of  Minnesota 

Mississippi  Agricultural  and 

Mech.  College     

Alcorn  A.   &  M.   College    (Col- 
ored)    

University    of   Missouri 

Montana    State    College    of    A. 

&  M.  Arts 

University  of  Nebraska 

University  of  Nevada 

New  Hampshire  College  of   A. 

&  M.  Arts 

Rutgers  College,  New  Jersey 

(5) 

New   Mexico   College   of    A.    & 

M.  Arts 

Cornell   University,   New   York 

(6) 

North   Carolina    College   of 

A.   &  M.  Arts 

North   Dakota  Agricultural 

College 

Ohio  State  University  (7)  .  .  .  . 


(4) 

(4) 


Un. 
Un. 
Un. 
Un. 


Col. 
Col. 
Un. 
Un. 
Un. 
Un. 


Un. 


Un 
Un 
Col. 


Un. 


Feb. 

Mch. 
Mch. 
Feb. 

Apr. 
Feb. 

Dec. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
May 


Feb. 


13,  1872 
1885 
27,  1871 
23, 1868 
11,  1870 

6,  1881 

5, 1833 

1870 

12. 1866 
1889 

28. 1867 
6,  1869 

1858 

16, 1863 

1878 


Mch.  1872 

Oct.  1891 

Jan.  22, 1872 

Sept.  23,  1869 

Sept.  1,  1879 

Sept.  28,  1881 

May  1834 

Oe*.  1,  1884 

May  1,  1872 

Oct.  3,  1892 

Mch.  2,  1868 

Sept.  16,  1874 


May  18,  1886 


Un. 


Un. 
Un. 


Col. 
Col. 


Un, 


Un. 


Apr. 
Feb. 


7,  1874 

25, 1865 

1856 


Apr.  10,  1861 

Apr.  24,  1863 

Feb.  12,  1855 

Feb.  19,  1851 

Feb.  28,  1878 


(2) 
Feb. 


1859 

16, 1863 
1879 


Oct.  11,  1887 


Nov. 
Sept. 


16, 1874 
14, 1868 
1859 


Fall  of 

Oct.  21,  1865 


May 
Feb. 

Feb. 
Feb. 
Mch. 

Jun. 


13,  1371 
11,  1839 

lb,  1893 

15,  1869 

7,  1873 


Nov. 
Feb. 


7,  1866 

10,  1766 

28, 1889 

Apr.  27,  1865 

1887 

9,  1890 


Mch. 
Mch. 


22, 1870 


Oct. 
May 
Nov. 


Apr. 


Feb.  1872 
Jun.  1910 
Mch.  27,  1871 
Mch.  23,  1868 
27,  1879 


Jan. 


Apr. 
Mch. 

Dec. 

Feb. 
May 

Sept. 

Feb. 


21, 1893 
14, 1867 

1870 
12, 1866 

1892 

28,  1867 

6,  1869 

11,  1862 

16,  1863 
1865 


May  21,  1807 


Apr. 
Feb. 


7,  1374 

25, 1865 

1864 


2, 1867 
13, 1857 
26,  1851 

1880 

1871 
14,  1841 


Sept.  15,  1893 
Sept.  7,  1871 
Oct.  12,  1874 

Sept.  4,  1868 


Mch.  10,  1890 
Oct.  7,  1868 
Oct.  1889 


Sept. 
Sept. 


8,  1891 
7,  1873 


Apr.    27,  1863 

Apr.  27,  1863 
Feb.  25,  1863 
18, 1868 


Feb. 

Feb. 

May 
Feb. 

Feb. 

Mch. 

Jun. 

Mch. 

Feb. 

Apr. 


Mch. 
Mch. 


28, 1878 

13, 1871 
24,  1870 

16, 1893 

1873 

7, 1873 

7,  1866 

21, 1863 

28,  1889 

27, 1865 

1887 

9, 1890 
22, 1870 


(1)— Georgia  State  College  of  Agriculture. 

(2)_School  opened  in  1859,  college  on  March  17,  1869. 

(3) — Bluemont  Central  College  opened  in  May,  1860. 

(4)— Massachusetts  maintains  one  state  Agricultural  college  and  aids 
the  Mass.  Institute  of  Technology,  a  private  foundation,  Harvard  University, 
also  a  private  corporation,  takes  the  place  of  a  State  University. 

(5)_Rutgers  College  is  a  private  corporation  but  is  aided  by  the  state 
and  is  the  official  State  College  of  Agriculture. 

(6) — While  Cornell  University  is  a  private  corporation  the  state  aids 
in  its  support  and  management  and  it  is  therefore  considered  as  New  York 
State's  land  grant  university. 


Tlie  Land  Grant  Colleges 


619 


The  Land  Grant  Colleges  (Continued) 


Name  of  Institution 


Agr.  Col. 
lege  sepa- 
rate from 
State  Univ. 
One  State 
Institution 


Date   of 

organization 

of  the 

institution 


Date  of 

opening  of  the 

institution 

to  students 


Date  of 

receipt  of 

1862    land 

grant  fund. 


Oklahoma    Agricultural    and 
Mechanical    C 

Oregon  Agricultural  College 
(8) 

Pennsylvania   State  College.  .  . 

Rhode  Island  State  College.  .  . 

Clemson    College,    South    Caro- 
lina   

Colored  Nor.  Ag.  and  Ind. 
College,  S.  C 

S.  Dakota  State  College  of  A. 
&  M.  Arts 

University    of   Tennessee 

Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
Col.    of   Texas 

Agricultural  College  of  Utah.  . 

University    of    Vermont 

Virginia  A.  &  M.  College  of 
Polytech.   Inst 

Hampton  Normal  and  Agri- 
cultural Inst.    (Col) 

State  College  of  Washington .  . 

West   Virginia    University.  .  .  . 

University  of   Wisconsin 

University  of  Wyoming 


Dec.    25,  1890 


Fall   of      1891 


Col. 
Col. 


Un. 


Un. 


Feb. 
Feb. 
Mch. 

Nov. 


Sept. 

Apr. 
Mch. 
Nov. 


11, 1865 
22, 1855 
23, 1888 

1889 

1896 

1881 
10, 1794 

17,  1871 
8,  1888 
2, 1791 


Feb.    20, 
Sept.  23, 

July 


1865 
1859 
1890 

1893 


Dec.  25,  1890 


1870 
19,  1867 
19, 1892 


Feb. 
May 

Nov. 


Sept.  24,  1884 


Oct.   4, 
Sept. 


1876 
1890 

1801 


Mch.  19,  1872 


Fall  of   1872 


1889 

1896 

1,  1889 
1,  1868 

17, 1871 
8, 1888 
9,  1865 

Mch.   19,  1872 


Oct. 
Feb. 

Apr. 
Mch. 

Nov. 


Un. 
Un. 
Un. 


Jun. 

Mch. 
Feb. 
July 
Mch. 


4,  1870 
28,  1890 

7,  1867 
26, 1848 

4,  1886 


April 
Jan.     13, 


Feb. 
Fall  of 


1868 
1892 
1868 
1850 

1887 


Mch. 
Mch. 
Feb. 
Apr. 


19, 1872 

28, 1890 

7,  1867 

12, 1866 

1889 


(7) — Ohio  State  University  is  the  officially  recognized  State  University 
and  includes  the  college  of  agriculture.  Ohio  also  has  created  two  other 
State  Institutions,  Miami  University  and  Ohio  University,  and  aids  them 
with  state  funds. 

(8) — Corvallis  College,  opened  in  1865,  became  Oregon  Agricultural 
College  in  1885. 


Index 


621 


INDEX 


Abbott,  E.,  78. 

Adams,  August,  34. 

Addams,  J.  H.,  208. 

Adelphic  literary  society  organized, 
318-19;  picture  of  (1870)  fac- 
ing p.  31-i. 

Agricultural  conventions,  see  Con- 
ventions. 

Agricultural  education,  see  Edu- 
cation, Agricultural. 

Agricultural  societies,  see  Socie- 
ties, agricultural. 

Agriculture,  instruction  in,  5 ;  be- 
ginnings of,  3 ;  need  of,  21 ; 
Maryland,  118-19;  Massachu- 
setts, 7-8;  Michigan,  9; 
Yale,  6. 

Alethanai  society,  picture  of 
(1870),  facing  p.  327. 

Alexander,  Harmon,  173. 

Allen,  Lemuel,  338-.39;  portrait  of, 
facing  p.  345. 

Alton,  67. 

Alton  Telegraph,  67. 

Ames,  Dr.,  381. 

Amherst  College,  8. 

Angle,  C.  W.,  465. 

Arney,  W.  F.  M.,  75,  81,  111,  169. 

Art,  314-15. 

Atherton,  George  Washington,  288, 
307,  349;  portrait  of,  facing 
p.  346. 

Aurora,  73. 

Austen,  J.  L.,  465. 

Ayres,  Mrs.,  offer  of,  243. 

Ayres,  A.  M.,  465. 


Babcock,  John  E.,   197,   198,   199, 

202,  203,  204,  213,  268,  458. 
Bailey,  A.  H.,  203,  206,  481. 
Baker,    Ira    Osborn,    portrait    and 

biographical    note,    facing    p. 

335. 
Baker,  William  Melville,  288,  322, 

332,  354. 
Baldwin,  Elmer,  323. 


Ballance,  Mr.,  50. 

Barber,  E.,  254. 

Barland,  A.  M.,  323. 

Barrett,  W.  C,  465. 

Bateman,  Newton,  84,  85,  173,  192, 
282,  338;  address  at  inaugura- 
tion of  university,  299-303; 
biographical  sketch,  339;  por- 
trait of,  facing  p.  338. 

Beasley,  A.  H.,  465. 

Beasley,  J.  S.,  465. 

Beasley,  W.  W.,  465. 

B'elangee,  James,  325,  332,  355. 

Bell,  Victor,  78. 

Belvidere,  73,  74. 

Bennett,  J.  D.,  465. 

Berdan,  Judge,  192. 

Berger,  G.  I.,  181,  470. 

Bernstein,  S.,  465. 

Biddle,  William,  465. 

Bidwell,  E.  C,  89. 

Blackburn,  Alexander,  338,  339-40; 
portrait  of,  facing  p.  338. 

Blakeman,  Curtis,  173. 

Blanchard,  J.,  12,  223,  226-8. 

Bliss,  Yv^illard  Flagg,  320,  321,  322, 
332,  353. 

Bloomfield,  I.  J.,  254. 

Bloomington,  246,  259; 
Convention  at   (1853),  75; 
Convention  at   (1860),   117-122; 
Convention  at    (1865),   219-222; 
reprint  of  report  of  Cham- 
paign Co.  to,  481-84; 
Convention  at  (1870),  332-0. 
see  aJso  Morgan  County. 

Bond,  Mr.,  263. 

B'onfield,  Thomas,  278. 

Botany  class,  first,  picture  of,  fac- 
ing p.  324. 

Bradner,  George,  254. 

Brayman,  Mason,  282,  289,  338, 
340;  portrait  facing  p.  345. 

Brayman  manuscripts,  reprints  of, 
579-83. 

Brawley,  F.  W.  S.,  74. 

Brewer,  William  H.  and  the  origin 
of  the  land  grant  act,  96. 

Briggs,  George  N.,  8. 

Bromby,  Prof.,  288,  293. 


622 


Index 


Bross,  Lieutenant-Governor,  217, 
247. 

Bro^vn,  Judge,  237. 

Brown,  Alexander  Montgomery, 
278,  338,  341. 

Brown,  E.  L.,  338. 

Brown,  James  N.,  6(),  117,  181,  4G9. 

Brown,  William,  236. 

Bryan,  John,  50,  465. 

Brvant,  Arthur,  333. 

Bryant,  John  H.,  219. 

Bryant,  O.  W.,  208. 

Buchanan,  President  and  the  veto 
of  the  land  grant  bill,  111-16. 

Buchanan,  Walter,  173. 

Buel  Institute,  15,  80-1,  149,  150, 
152,  239,  240;  list  of  organi- 
zers of,  facing  p.  16. 

Buffalo  Patriot,  38. 

Bullock,  Leonard  Loring,  16,  29, 
50,  55,  172,  380,  405;  bio- 
graphical sketch,  149-50;  por- 
trait, facing  p.  149. 

Bunn,  John  W.,  276. 

Burchard,  Horatio  C,  338,  340. 

Burrill,  Thomas  Jonathan,  305, 
322,  324,  332;  biographical 
sketch,  349-51;  portraits,  fac- 
ing pp.  324,  350. 

Burroughs,  John  Curtiss,  181,  223, 
296,  338,  469;  biographical 
sketch,  340-1. 

Burt,  Jesse,  465. 

Busey,  J.  C,  206,  216. 

Bushnell,  W.,  208,  247. 


C 


Calvert,  C.  B.,  116-7. 

Campbell,  A.,  465. 

Campbell,  L.  D.,  39. 

Campus,  picture  of,  facing  p.  281. 

Capen,  L.  W.,  254. 

Carbondale,  normal  school  at,  164. 

Carlinville,  67. 

Carriel,  Mrs.  Mary,  95. 

Casey,  Zadoe,  165,  173. 

Cartwright,  Peter,  165. 

Cary,  F.  G.,  77,  88,  99,  110,  115, 
136. 

Central  Illinois  Times,  54. 

Champaign,  191.    see  also  Urbana. 

Champaign  county,  216-7,  241, 
256-7,  259,  481-4;  votes  to  buy 
institute,  214;  contest  over  lo- 
cation of  university,  205-8, 
212-13,  242,  247,  260-3,  485-6; 


pecures  location  of  university, 
264,  cost  of  buildings,  268-70. 

' '  Champaign  elephant, ' '  266-7, 
484,  506-14,  see  also  Urbana- 
Champaign  Institute. 

"Champaign  Ring,"  265,  266-7, 
493-504,  515-22. 

Champaign  County  Democrat, 
462-5. 

Champaign  County  Union  and 
Gazette,  215,  265. 

Champaign  Gazette,  212. 

Chandler,  Mr.,  5. 

Chandler,  Thompson,  472. 

Chandlersville,   132. 

Chase,  C.  T.,  117. 

Chemistry,  importance  of,  2-3. 

Cheney,  W.  H.,  246,  488. 

Chicago,  67,  68-72;  report  to  Me- 
chanics of,  477-80 ;  petition  of 
Mechanics,  599-615;  state  fair, 
83 ;    university   of,   120-1. 

Chicago  Journal,  68,  215. 

Chicago  Tribune,  228. 

Chicago  Weekly  Times,  117-8. 

Chicago  and  Alton  offer,  255,  257. 

Childs,  S.  D.,  69. 

Clark,  J.  G.,  465. 

Clark,  John  A.,  76. 

Clay,  Cassius  M.,  109-10,  132. 

Cloud,  Newton,  166. 

Cobb,  Representative,  opposed  to 
Morrill  Bill,   107-8. 

Cobb,  Emery,  338,  341;  portrait, 
facing  p.  338. 

Co-education  at  Illinois  industrial 
university,  43,  319-20,  327. 

Cohnan,  Col.,  323. 

Cohns,  Mr.,  247. 

Cohrs,  Jno.  B.,  208. 

Coler,  W.  N.,  206,  465. 

College  presidents,  meeting  of, 
222-5. 

College  and  seminary  funds,  40, 
50,  61,  69-71,  86,  171;  history 
of,  162-4. 

Colleges,  state  aid  for,  222-39. 

Columbia,  Carter  F.,  199,  202,  458, 
465,  466. 

Concordia  Theological  Seminary, 
169. 

Condit,  A.  B.,  206. 

Conkey,  W.  A.,  206. 

Conklin,  Asa,  465. 

Conklin,  J.  C,  219. 

Connecticut,  indifference  to  agri- 
cultural education,  6. 

Conrad,  Judge,  39. 


Index 


628 


Conventions,  50-1. 

Bloomington  (1860),  meeting  of 
the  fifth  industrial  conven- 
tion, 50,  117-22;  (1865), 
481-4. 
Chicago  (1852),  meeting  of  third 
industrial  convention,  39,  43, 
58,  404-5 ;  leaders,  44 ;  small 
colleges  excluded,  40. 
Granville  (1851),  meeting  of 
first  industrial  convention, 
15,  211;  addressed  by  J.  B. 
Turner,  18-20 ;  importance 
of,  25;  proceedings  pub- 
lished, 37-8;  reprint  of  pro- 
ceedings, 378-82 ;  resolu- 
tions, 15-6. 
Springfield  (1852),  meeting  of 
second  industrial  conven- 
tion, 30-7 ;  committee  on 
memorial  to  legislature,  34; 
memorial  to  legislature,  400- 
404;  importance  of,  37;  of- 
ficers, 32;  plan  of  Prof. 
Evans,  427-9  (reprint). 
Springfield  (1853)  meeting  of 
fourth  industrial  conven- 
tion, 47-50,  405;  memorial 
to  Congress,  49,  52,  431-2; 
memorial  to  legislature,  51- 
2,  406-10. 
Springfield  (1855),  meeting,  81. 
Springfield  (1863),  meeting  of 
the  sixth  industrial  conven- 
tion, 181-2 ;  memorial  to  leg- 
islature, 473-4;  proceedings, 
469-72. 
Springfield  (1864),  meeting  of 
eighth  industrial  convention, 
resolutions  of,  475-6. 

Cook,  Mr.,  51,  193,  210. 

Corbett,  W.  W.,  181,  469. 

Cornell,  Ezra,  218,  237,  280,  335. 

Cornell  University,  218. 

Corwin,  Mr.,  243-4. 

Cosgrove,  T.  A.,  213,  216,  486. 

Courier,  (Alton),  67. 

Cress,  Absolom,  168. 

Cullom,  Shelby  M.,  299,  468. 

Cultivator,   (Albany,  N.  Y.),  37. 

Cunningham,  J.  O.,  216,  338,  342, 
465 ;  portrait,  facing  p.  345. 

Custer,  George,  465. 

Cutcheon,  L.  M.,  465. 

Cutchcon,  O.  M.,  465. 

Cutler,  Manasseh,  157,  158. 


D 


Daily  Democrat,  (Chicago),  68. 

Daily  Press,  (Peoria),  72. 

Daily  Tribune,  (Chicago),  68. 

Danville,  80. 

Danville  Commercial,  215. 

David,  John,  44. 

Davis,  Judge,  249. 

Davis,  James,  169. 

Davis,  John,  44,  63,  381. 

Davis,  S.  J.,  333. 

Deer,  J.,  69. 

Democratic  Press,  (Chicago),  68; 
opposed  to  industrial  educa- 
tion, 69. 

D€nio,  C.  B.,  50,  53,  83,  120. 

Detmers,  H,  J.,  326. 

Detroit,  land  district  of,  159. 

Devore,  Isaac,  261. 

Dickey,  Judge,  74. 

Dickinson,  Lieutenant-Governor,  4. 

Dikeman,  George  H.,  208. 

Dix,  Dorothy,  134. 

Dixon,  X.,  488. 

Dougherty,  John,  381. 

Douglas,  Henry  Marshall,  325,  332, 
354-5. 

Douglas,  Eobert,  342-3. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  39,  62,  90, 
93,  122 ;  death  of,  123. 

Downing,  A.  J.,  38,  145. 

Downing,  Charles,  145. 

Dudley,  Williamson,  239. 

Dummer,  Judge,  192. 

Duncan,  Governor,  165. 

Duncan,  W.  E.,  254, 

Dunlap,  Matthias  Lane,  206,  216, 
274,  291-97,  323,  338,  342; 
portrait,  facing  p.  345. 

Dunn,  E.  C,  208. 

Dychus,  Mr.,  49. 

E 

East  Bend,  261. 

Eastman,  Francis  E.,  187,  245. 

Eberhart,  John,  329. 

Eddy,  Mr.,  246. 

Education,  agricultural,  see  Edu- 
cation, industrial. 

Education,  industrial,  1,  3,  77,  87, 
102 ;  interest  in,  38,  52-3 ;  need 
of,  2,  18,  19,  23,  133;  impor- 
tance of  experiments  in,  22 ; 
reasons  for  failure  in,  20,  121; 
industrial  vs.  classical,  3,  22, 
44-5,    94,    134,    294-5,    317-8; 


G21 


Index 


land  grants  for,  1,  2,  23,  156-8, 
439-57;  Illinois,  81,  164,  169- 
77;  favored  by  Mechanics  In- 
stitute, 69;  Illinois  plan  be- 
fore Congress,  92-114;  Illinois 
bills  to  establish  university, 
525-62;  Iowa,  116,  120;  Mary- 
land, 118-9;  Massachusetts, 
119;  Michigan,  119-20,  134; 
New  York,  7,  119,  134;  Penn- 
sylvania, 119;  plans  for  "In- 
dustrial UNIVERSITIES  FOR 
THE  PEOPLE."  (J.  B.  Turner), 
365-77;  "Plan  for  an  indus- 
trial     UNIVERSITY      FOR     THE 

STATE  OF  Illinois."  (J.  B. 
Turner),  382-400;  John  Lvaus' 
plan,  427-9. 

Edwards,  Cyrus,  181,  187,  469. 

Edwards,  Ninian  W.,  76,  83,  148. 

Edwards,  Samuel,  323,  338,  343, 

Edwardsv-ille,  67,  68. 

Egan,  Dr.,  237. 

Eggleston,  Edward,  320. 

Elgin,  67,  72,  73. 

Ellsworth,  Lewis,  333,  472. 

Emery,  Henry  D.,  472. 

Emmons,  Ebenezer,  opinion  of,  11. 

English,  Dr.,  181,  470. 

Enock,  A.  I.,  259. 

Enos  family,  168. 

Epler,  262,  263. 

Espey,  W.  W.,  465. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  synod,  theo- 
logical seminary  of,  see  Con- 
cordia Theological  Seminary; 
Lutheran   church. 

Evans,  John,  plan  of,  opposed  to 
Turner,  33;  "Plan  for  an  in- 
dustrial universtiy,"   427-9. 

Evarts,  W.  W.,  139. 

Everett,  J.  T.,  202,  466. 

Everetts,  W.  W.,  187. 

F 

Farms,  experimental,  5,  7. 

Farmer's  College,  (Macoupin  Co.), 
bill  to  incorporate,  166-7. 

Farmer's  college  (Ohio),  30. 
see  also  Gary,  F.  G. 

Farmer's  conventions,  see  Conven- 
tions. 

Favctte  County,  159,  160. 

Fell,  Kcrsev  H.,  187,  191. 

Fell,  Jesse'  W.,  73,  75,  151,  191, 
248,  249,  254,  259,  329-30,  488  ; 


biographical     sketch,      152-3; 

portrait,  facing  p.  149. 
Filbnore,  B.  F.,  465. 
Fish,  Hamilton,   7. 
Flagg,  Willard  Cutting,  276,  282, 

323,   338,    343,   472;    portrait, 

facing  p.  345. 
Flpin,  G.  W.,  465. 
Fort,  Mr.,  264. 
Foster,  Suel,  116,  228-9. 
Francis,  Simeon,  79,  86,  169. 
Franks,  Thomas,  321,  332. 
Freeman,  H.  C,  322, 
Freeport,  73,  76. 
Free  West  (Chicago),  68,  71. 
French,  Governor,  411. 
French,  Augustus  C,   49,  52,   169. 
French,  D.  P.,  174. 
Fuller,  Mr.,  192,  245,  246. 

G 

Gage,  John,  44,  169,  404,  425. 

Gaillard,  Mr.,  263. 

Galena  Jeffersonian,  26-7. 

Galusha,  Orson  Bingham,  219,  221, 
276,  323,  338,  343,  476;  por- 
trait, facing  p.  346. 

Gardner,  Daniel,  216,  481. 

Gate,  John,  81. 

Gates,  P.  W.,  191. 

Geneseo,  73. 

Geology,  importance  of,  2. 

Giddings,  Mr.,  62. 

Gilmer,  Mr.,  379. 

Goltra,  Moore  C,  338,  343;  por- 
trait, facing  p.  338. 

Gooding,  William,  405, 

Graff,  P.,  69. 

Granville  Convention  (1851),  211; 
address  by  J.  B.  Turner,  18- 
20 ;  importance  of,  25 ;  pro- 
ceedings published,  37-38;  re- 
print of  proceedings,  378-82; 
resolutions,  15-16.  see  also 
Conventions. 

Granville  church,  facing  p.  16. 

"Granville  plan,"  37,  43,  44,  46-7. 

Gray,  C.  M.,  68. 

Gray,  John  W.,  48,  49. 

Greiale,  John,  379. 

Greeley,  Horace,  54-5. 

Green,  D.  K.,  208,  263. 

Green,  Ed.  A.,  465. 

Gregg,  David  L.,  49,  169,  381,  411. 

Gregory,  John  Milton,  272,  282, 
288,  291-97,  303-4,  309,  310, 
314,  318,  322,  323-4,  327,  332; 


Index 


625 


biographical  sketch  of,  348-9 ; 
collection  of  casts,  315;  elected 
regent  274-76;  portrait,  fac- 
ing p.  350. 

Gridley,  A.,  254,  4S8. 

Gridley,  H.,  248. 

Grieg,  John,  4. 

Griggs,  C.  R.,  188,  206,  213,  216, 
242,  243,  244,  246,  261,  262, 
264,  270,  272,  481;  biograph- 
ical sketch  of,  346;  portrait, 
facing  p.  345;  influence  in  lo- 
cation of  the  university,  515- 
22. 

Griggsville,  17. 


Hay,  A.  D.,  175. 

Hacker,  William  A.,   173. 

Hammond,  David  S.,  338,  344. 

Hansen,  George  P.,  69. 

Harding,  George,  338,  344. 

Harlan,  Mr.,  124,  125. 

Harait,  Mr.,  262. 

Harris,  Judge,  187. 

Harris,    Benjamin    F.,    202,    465, 

466 ;    biogi-aphical    note,    and 

portrait,  facing  p.  346. 
Haskell,  George,  44. 
Harvard,  9,  14. 

Harvey,  George,  197,  199,  268,  458. 
Hayes,  Samuel  Snowden,  282,  338, 

344. 
Helberstadt,  Mr.,  216. 
Henrv,  HI.,  73. 
Henry,  A.  G.,  77. 
Hillsboro,  167. 

Hise,  John,  34,  378,  379,  380,  381. 
Hitchcock,   Edward,    9. 
Hodgerson,  Mr.,  197,  198-9. 
Hodges,  L.,  465. 
Holman,  Mr.,  123,  126. 
Holmes,  J.  C,  9. 
Homer,  111.,  261. 
Hopkins,  W.  T.,  208. 
Horticultural    Society,      see    State 

Horticultural  Society. 
Horticulture,  21,  119,  310,  322. 
Horticulturist.  38. 
Hovey,  L.  A.,  254,  488. 
Hubbard,  T.  S.,  465. 
Hull,  E.  S.,  323. 
Hungate,  J.  P.,  338,  344. 
Husman,  George,  323. 


Hunt,  Charles  A.,  198,  201,  203, 
465;  biographical  note  and 
portrait,  facing  p.  201. 

Hunter,  A.  J.,  208. 


Hes,  Elijah,  381. 
Illinois, 

Colleges,  Illinois  college,  165; 
Illinois  agricultural  college, 
191,  history  of,  161,  164, 
173-77;  Illinois  industrial 
college,  193;  Northern  Illi- 
nois agricultural  college,  57, 
171-72;  see  also  Knox,  Mc- 
Kendree,  Normal,  Shurtleflt'. 
Education,  industrial,  62;  inter- 
est in,  11;  opposed,  27-8; 
plan  before  U.  S.  Congress, 
92-114. 
Land  grant  and  seminary  funds, 

34-7,  159-64,  178-210. 
Legislature,  memorials  to,  34-7, 
411-12;  resolutions,  53-4; 
press  opinions,  54-5 ;  bills  to 
establish  university,  525-62. 
Illinois  Industrial  Conventions,  see 

Conventions. 
Illinois  Industrial  League,  43,  49, 
56-8,  78,  81,  425-6;   certificate 
of  membership,  63,  67,  93,  de- 
sign on,  facing  p.   16;   official 
organ  of,  79;  work  of,  98-100; 
controversy   over  management 
of    Jacksonville    hospital    for 
insane,  65 ;   publishes  ' '  Indus- 
trial universities  for  the  peo- 
ple," 64;   Turner,  a  traveling 
lecturer,  66-73. 
Illinois    Industrial    university,    16, 
69-71,  82,  84,  166; 
Location,    contest    over,    164-77, 
179-264;  reports  of  commit- 
tees, 255-59,  492-505;  Cham- 
paign coimty,  206-8,  462-65, 
485-86,      515-22 ;      Chicago, 
599-615;  Logan  county,  489- 
91 ;  McLean  county,  486-88 ; 
Morgan      county,      584-78 ; 
Springfield,   165. 
Organization  of,  272-307;  opens, 
298;    tuition,   327;    degrees, 
287-8;  motto,  298;  laws  re- 
garding, 588-98 ;  charter,  60 ; 
first  appropriation  bill,  311- 
12  (reprint)  ;  seminarj'  con- 
tract   (reprint)    458-61. 


626 


Index 


Trustees,  board  of,  288,  298 ;  act 
to    incorporate,    81;     meet- 
ings   272-74,    276-77,    324; 
resolutions    of,    278-9,    579- 
83;      biographical     sketches 
338-47 ;  portraits,  facing  pp. 
338,  345. 
Faculty,    305-6,    320,    325,    332; 
biographical    sketches,    348- 
55,  portraits,  facing  pp.  346, 
350. 
Instruction,  course  of,  282-7;  lec- 
tures, 322,  323;  li])rary,  288, 
293;    military   science,   289- 
91,    307,    319,    327;  veterin- 
ary science,  326. 
Campus  and  buildings,  281;  pic- 
tures, facing   pp.   208,  308. 
Student  life,  308-337;   co-educa- 
tion, 319-20. 
Illinois   state   agiicultural   society, 
15,  48,  49,  81,  117,  211 ;  organ- 
ized,    50;     incorporated,     55; 
first  fair,  55. 
Illinois  state  horticultural  society, 

117,   211,  310,  331-2. 
Illinois  state  teachers'  association, 

75,  83-7. 
Illinois  state  normal  university,  86, 

87. 
Illinois  state  vmiversity,  57,  167-9. 
Illinois  Daily  Journal,  54,  66. 
Illinois  Farmer,  116,  120. 
Illinois  Journal,  27-8,  38,  41-3, 

48,  71,  79. 
Illinois  State  Eegister,  38,  82. 
Illinois  Statesman,  132. 
Illinois  Teacher,  75. 
Illinois  Weekly  Journal,  27-8. 
Indiana  Territory,  159. 
Industrial  conventions,  sec  Conven- 
tions. 
Industrial    education,    sec    Educa- 
tion, industrial. 
* "  Industrial  university  of  the  state 
of   Illinois,"   bill   to   incorpo- 
rate, 169-70. 
"Industrial    universities    for    the 

people,"  reprint  of,  365-77. 
Ingersoll,  J.  E.,  465. 
Insley,  John,  202,  465,  466. 
Iowa,  agricultural  colleges  in,   24. 
Ives,  A.  B.,  248. 
Irvington  173,  191. 


Jacksonville,  192;  as  a  location  of 
the  industrial-  university,  40-1 
42,  237,  243,  246,  263;  cholera 
at,  131;  hospital  for  insane, 
controversy  over  management 
of,  65,  134;  institute  for  the 
deaf  and  dumb,  164.  see  also 
Morgan  County. 

Jacksonville  Constitutionist, 
81,  82. 

Jacksonville  Journal,  226;  re- 
print of  report  of  committee 
on  location  of  industrial  uni- 
versity, 492-505. 

James,  Edmund  Janes,  and  the 
origin  of  the  land  grant  act, 
94;  portrait,  frontispiece. 

Jaquith,  J.  W.,  465. 

Jersej^'ille,  Turner  at,  67. 

Johns,  H.  C,  81,  169. 

Johnson,  John   Stephen,   338,   344. 

Joliet  Signal,  26. 

Judd,  Mr.,  62. 


K 


Kaskaskia,  land  district  of,  159. 

Kelly,  J.  F.,  465. 

Kenis,  Mr.,  315. 

Kennicott,  John  A.,  29,  31,  32,  39, 
40,  41,  43,  44,  45,  55,  60,  76, 
78,  79,  81,  88,  90,  94,  98,  99, 
100,  135,  146,  169,  180,  181, 
405,  438,  469-70;  biographical 
sketch,  144-46;  portrait,  fac- 
ing p.  144. 

Kile,  William,  184,  472. 

King,  John  A.,  4,  7. 

Kirkpatrick,  J.  C,  465. 

Knox  College,  180,  184. 


Laeon,  111.,  73. 

Lancaster,  L.,  465. 

Land,  grant  of,  for  education,  his- 
tory of,  1,  156-8,  161-3;  for 
colleges,  51,  87,  89,  90,  91,  115- 
127 ;  petitions  to  Congress  for, 
439-57;  statistics  of,  616-19: 
J.  S.  Morrill  and,  523-4;  J.  B. 
Turner  and,  25;  Horace  Gree- 
ley on,  55;  Lyman  Trumbull 
on,  93:  bill  (1857),  history  of, 
92-114;      vetoed.     111;      bill 


Index 


627 


(1862),  2,  123-7,  137,  584-88; 

passed,  2,   126;     Illinois  laws 

fori  588-98, 
Lane,  Senator,  124. 
LaSalle,  73. 
LaSalle  Standard,  26. 
Lawrence,  C.  B.,  187,  299. 
LawTence,    Luther    W.,    181,    338, 

344-5,  469,  470,  472;  portrait, 

facing  p.  338. 
Leach,  Mr.,  85. 
Lee,  Daniel,  6,  14,  39. 
Lincoln,    Abraham,    2,    122,    136-7, 

142,     168;     signs    land    grant 

act,  2,  126. 
Lincoln,  111.,  offer  of,  255,  263. 
Lindley,  M.,  465. 

Little,  J.  T.,  32,  34,  169,  404,  425. 
Lockport,  73. 
Lofflin,  Mr.,  382. 
Logan,  John  A.,  299. 
Logan   County,    241,    254-5,   257-8, 

263,  489-91. 
Luckey,  Rev.   Samuel,  plan   of,  5. 
Lutheran  church,  sale  of  property 

of  ' '  Illinois  State  university, ' ' 

168-9. 
Lumsden,    George   L.,   33,    49,    50, 

60,  61-3,  83,  169-70,  171,  430. 


M 


Mack,  Mr.,  247,  264. 

McArthur,  E.,  69. 

McBurney,  James,  50. 

McChesney,   Mr.,   120. 

McClun,  John  E.,  254. 

McConnell,  A.  B.,  188,  192,  193, 
246,  247,  261,  264,  338,  476, 
portrait,  facing  p.  345. 

McConnell,  James,  381. 

McCurdy,  N.  M.,  191,  472. 

McFarland,  Dr.,  237. 

McKendree  college,  165. 

McLain,  Judge,  88. 

McLean   county,   241,   246,   247-54, 
257,  259,  263,  264,  280;   as  a 
location     for     the    university, 
486-88 ;  offer  of,  249-54. 
see  also  Bloomington. 

McLean  county  industrial  league, 
73. 

McMasters,  A.  R.,  219. 

McMurray,  L.  B.,  338,  345. 

Macoupin  county,  166-7. 

Macoupin  Statesman,  82. 

Magoun,  George  F.,  77. 


Maban,  Isaac  Sanders,  277,  338, 
345,  portrait,  facing  p.  338. 

Marshall,  S.  S.,  299. 

Martin,  Nobel,  69. 

Martin,  W.,  221. 

Maryland  agricultural  college, 
118-9. 

Mason,  A.  C,  178,  179,  472. 

Massachusetts,  7,  8,  9. 

Mather,  John,  465. 

Matteson,  Joel  A.,  54,  76,  169. 

Mechanics  institute  of  Chicago,  fa- 
vors  industrial   education,   69. 

Meeker,  N.  C,  221. 

Merriman,  A.  J.,  488. 

Miehener,  Henry,  465. 

Michigan,  9,  10. 

Military  science,  instruction  in, 
289-91,  306,  307,  319,  327. 

"The  millennium  of  labor,"  65, 
135. 

Miller,  Edmund,  168. 

Miller,  Henry,  216. 

Mills,  J.,  465. 

Mills,  Joshua  S.  W.,  239. 

mils,  Urial,  81. 

Minier,  George  W.,  183,  185,  218, 
219. 

Minnesota,  agricultural  college  in, 
24. 

Morgan  County,  236-38,  243,  246, 
247,  258-9,  263,  264,  564-78. 
see  also  Jacksonville. 

Morgan  Journal,  27. 

Moline,  73. 

Morehouse,  C.  R.,  486. 

Morning  News  (Peoria),  73. 

Morrill,  Justin  Smith,  120,  123, 
126,  523-4;  and  the  land  grant 
bill  (1857),  94-114;  biograph- 
ical sketch,  153-55 ;  portrait, 
facing  p.  149.  see  also  J.  B. 
Turner. 

Morrill  tariff  act,  154. 

Morrill-TuiTier  controversy,  120. 

Morse,  L.  D.,  323. 

Morton,  Marcus,  381. 

Morton,  Joseph,  32,  236. 

Mount  Morris  Gazette,  40-1;  an- 
swered by  Illinois  Journal 
41-3. 

Mulke,  J.  H.,  187. 

Munhall,  William,  465. 

Murray,  Bronson,  43,  44,  46,  48, 
49,  50,  54,  55,  58,  60,  66,  73, 
75,  76,  77,  78,  79,  80,  81,  83, 
84,  87,  88,  90,  98-99,  133,  169, 


G28 


Index 


40-4,  425,  433-4;  wife  of,  141, 
143;  biographical  sketch  of, 
138-44;  portrait,  facing  p. 
138 

Murtfeldt,  Charles  D.,  476. 

Myers,  James,  465. 


N 


Nebiker,  Washington,  206. 

Nelson,  Henry,  202,  466. 

Nelson,  Joseph,  465. 

Newberry,  Samuel,  76. 

New  York,  3,  4,  5,  7. 

New  York  Daily  Tribune,  38,  54. 

Niccolls,  John,  254, 

Noble,  H.,  488. 

Norton,  J.  B.,  plan  of,  6. 

Northern  Illinois  agricultural  col- 
lege, 57,  171-2. 

Northern  industrial  college,  62. 

Normal  University,  164,  248-54, 
263. 

Northwest    industrial     convention, 


Ockerson,  J.  A.,  313;  portrait,  fac- 
ing J).  314. 

Oglesbv,  Eichard  J.,  189,  217,  244, 
246,  273,  274,  282,  299,  345; 
portrait,  facing  p.  338. 

Ohio,  secures  land  grant,  158-9. 

Ohio  land  company,  156-9. 

Okaw  bottoms,  sale  of  land  in,  159. 

Oregon,  agricultural  college  in,  24. 

O'Reilly,  Henry,  4. 

Osage  orange,  83,  128-9. 

Osraan,  M.,  15,  378,  380. 

Ottawa,  73,  74. 

Ottawa  Free  Trader,  47,  64. 


Paine,  Seth,  44-5,  50. 

Park,  William,  199,  202,  458,  465, 

466. 
Parke,  George  W.,  248,  254. 
Parks,  Dr.,  216. 
Parsons,  Samuel  Holdcn,  157. 
Peabody,  Selim  H.,  286. 
Pearce,  Ed^in,  465. 
Peck,  Ira  L.,  405. 
Pekin,  73. 
Penfield,  John,  202,  466. 


Pennell,  W.  A.,  81,  86,  169,  172, 
254,  380,  404,  425;  biograph- 
ical sketch,  150-1;  portrait, 
facing    p.    149. 

Pennington,  L.  S.,  49,  169,  381, 
404,  411,  425. 

Peoria,  67,   72-3. 

Peoria  Press,  26,  73. 

Peoria  Republican,  26,  73. 

Pera,  261. 

Periam,  Jonathan,  288,  320-1,  323. 

Peru,  73. 

Phelps,  W.  J.,  381. 

Philadelphia  North  American, 
39. 

Philomathean  literary  society,  or- 
ganized, 318-19;  picture,  fac- 
ing p.  319. 

Phinney,  J.  B'.,  465. 

Phoenix,  F.  K.,  254. 

Pickrell,  James  Henry,  338,  345. 

Pierce,  W.  H.,  221,  481. 

Pike  county  teachers'  institute, 
address  by  J.  B.  Turner,  17. 

' '  Plan  for  an  industrial  university 
for  the  state  of  Illinois, ' '  re- 
print of  address  by  J.  B.  Tur- 
ner, 382-400. 

Pope,  Nathaniel,  162. 

Porter,  Ira,  44. 

Post,  J.  S.,  87. 

Potter,  Mr.,  123,  126. 

Powell,  Elmer,  379. 

Powell,  John  W.,  288,  298,  305,  320. 

Powell,  L.,   465. 

Powell,  W.  H.,  32,  83,  84,  85. 

Prairie  Farmer,  11,  14,  28,  29,  37, 
54,  78,  83,  99,  145. 

Price,  F,,  488. 

Prince,  David,  29,  169. 

Prince,  E.  M.,  254. 

Princeton,  111.,  73. 

Public  lands,   see  Land,  grant  of. 

Pullen,  Burden,  338,  345;  portrait, 
fa<;ing  p.  345. 

Pulsifer,   Sidney,  378. 

Putnam,  Eufus,  156,  157. 

Putnam  County,  172. 


Quick,  Thomas,  166,  173,  174,  181, 
274,  338,  345-6,  469. 

B 

Rantoul,  261. 

Raum,  Green  B.,  299. 


Index 


629 


Eea,  James,  274. 

Bead,  Pres.,  of  Shiiitleff,  183,  184. 

Reasoner,  Eev.  J.  R.,  95. 

Reddiek,  William,  15,  378,  379. 

Eenois,  B.  C,  173. 

Reynolds,  John  P.,  181,  184,  1ST5, 
188,  189,  191,  192,  193,  218, 
240,  316-17,  469,  471,  472, 
476;  biographical  sketch  151- 
2;   portrait,  facing  p.  149. 

Eicker,  Nathan  Clifford,  biograph- 
ical note  and  portrait,  facing 
p.  335. 

Riley,  G.  W.,  465. 

Robinson,  Stillman  Williams,  325, 
332,  352. 

Rockford  Fair  (1863),  resolutions 
of  meeting  at,  183. 

Rock  Island,  73. 

Roe,  Edward  Reynolds,  73,  75,  248, 
427. 

Roe,  James  T.,  465. 

Rolfe,  Charles  Wesley,  317-20;  bi- 
ographical note  and  portrait, 
facing  p.  335. 

Romine,  William  H.,  199,  458,  465. 

Roots,  B.  G.,  181,  188,  191,  193, 
470,  472,  476. 

Rosevelt,  W.  H.,  472. 

Routt,  John  L.,  254. 

Russell,  John,  169. 

Rutherford,  Reuben  C,  58-9,  66, 
72-4,  76,  80;  biographical 
sketch  147-8. 

Rutledge,  William  J.,  75,  488. 

S 

Sangamon  county  agricultural  so- 
ciety, 11. 

Savage,  Judge,  4. 

Sawyer,   McCraeken  &  Co.,   175. 

Scammon,  J.  Y.,  72. 

Scotland,  agricultural  education  in, 
5. 

Scott,  Felix,  471. 

Seroggs,  Johu  W.,  191,  204,  205, 
206,   216,   308,    338,   346. 

Seminary  and  College  Funds,  his- 
tory of,  in  Illinois,  156-64. 

Seward,  Governor,  4,  62. 

Seymour,  Governor,  62. 

Shattuek,  Samuel  Walker,  307,  320, 
332,  351-2;  portrait,  facing  p. 
350. 

Shaw,  Aaron,  381. 

Sheldon,  J.  C,  216,  465,  481. 


Shepherd,  Charles  U.,  8. 
Shepherd,  Smiley,  221,  239,  333. 
Bherfy,  C.  M.,  216,  465. 
Sherwood,  Col.,  4. 
Shields,  James,  55,  62. 
Shurtleff    College,    165,    179,    180, 

183,  184. 
Sim,  Joseph  W.,  Jr.,  199,  202,  458, 

466. 
Sim,  William,  216,  465. 
Simson,  Matthew,  202. 
Singleton,  J.  W.,  173. 
"Slush  Fund,"  265-7. 
Smith,  G.  P.,  237. 
Smith,  Leander,   208. 
Smithsonian  institute,  20. 
Snyder,  Edward,  307,  320,  323,  332, 

353. 
Societies,  agricultural,  Illinois,  10, 
11;    ilichigau,   9;    New   York, 
3,  4,  6,  7. 
Somers,  W.  D.,  206,  465,  486. 
Southern  Cultivator,  39. 
Springer,  J.  T.,  208. 
Springfield,  165 ;  first  state  fair  at, 
55. 
Convention    (1852),   30-37;     me- 
morial,  importance   of,   37; 
officers,      32;       reprint      of 
Evans'  plan,  427-9;   reprint 
of   memorial   to   legislature, 
400-4. 
Convention      (1853),     48,     405; 
memorial    to    Congress,    49, 
52,  431-2;  memorial  to  leg- 
islature, 51-2,   406-10;   reso- 
lutions of,  49-50. 
Convention    (1855),  81. 
Convention    (1863),   181-2;    pro- 
ceedings of,  469-72. 
Springfield  Weekly  Journal   26, 

196. 
Starve,  Alexander,  169. 
State    fair,    Chicago,    83;    Spring- 
field, 55. 
State     horticultural     society,     183, 

190. 
State  Register,  83,  84,  85. 
Stephenson  county,  73-4. 
Stevens,  B.  N.,  60,  299. 
Stewart,  H.  C,  465. 
Stipp,  James  G.,  173. 
Stoughton,  Jonathan  C,   197,   198, 
199,   201,   202,   203,   204,   206, 
213,    268,    458;     biographical 
note    and   portrait,    facing    p. 
201. 


630 


Index 


strain,  Mr.,  264. 

Strawn,  William,  142. 

Stryker,  J.  P.,  465. 

Stuart,   A.    P.    S.,    320,    322,   332, 

353-4. 
Stuart,  John  T.,  168. 
Sturtevant,  J.  M.,  84,  187,  225,  238, 
239. 


Taft,  Lorado,  314-16, 

Tappan,  Henry  P.,  77;  favors  land 

grant  colleges,  88,  89. 
Tenney,  Sanborn,  325,  355. 
Thomas,  David,  145. 
Thomas,  John  H.,  199,  458. 
Thompson,  Alexander,  325. 
Thompson,  C.  A.,  465. 
Tiee,  John  H.,  323. 
Tineher,   Mr.,    193,   243,   245,   246, 

247. 
Titsworth,  A.  D.,  191,  477-8. 
Tolono,  261. 

Topping,  Charles  H.,  338,  346. 
Trumbull,  Lyman,  92-3,  97-8,  125, 

438. 
Trustees  of  the  Illinois  industrial 
university,  first  board  of,  338- 
47;    portraits,   facing   p.   338, 
345. 
Tubbs,  Henry,  219. 
Tupper,  Benjamin,  156. 
Turner,  Jonathan  Baldwin,  15,  32, 
34,   49,    76-81,    84-6,    88,    120, 
180-1,   184-5,    191-3,   219,   221, 
236,   238,   265,   272,  310,   321, 
329-30,     333,     335-6,     378-81, 
404-5,  425,  469,  471-2,  476. 
Biographical      sketch,       128-38 ; 
portraits,     facing     pp.     14, 
149;    introduces    osage    or- 
ange, 83 ;  home  of,  facing  p. 
128. 
Lecturer    of    Hlinois    industrial 
league,    66-73 ;    refuses    ap- 
pointment      by       Governor 
Yates,    188;    call    industrial 
convention  of  1852,  30;   re- 
ceived suggestions  for  basis 
of  Illinois  industrial  univer- 
sity, 435-7. 
Plan    for   an    industrial   univer- 
sity, 2,  12-14,  21-4;  printed, 
37-9;    reception  of,  17;  op- 
posed,    27-8,     40-1;     press 
opinion  of,  26-9,  38-9,  40-2. 


Land  grant  colleges,  bill  for,  92, 
94-114.  see  also  Land, 
grant  of;    Morrill,  J.  S. 

Addresses  by,  16-20,  55-7,  63-4, 
121:  "Industrial  Univer- 
sities FOR  THE  PEOPLE," 
16;  reprint  of,  365-78; 
"The  Millennium  op  la- 
bor," 65;  "Philosophy  op 
money"    132;    "Plan  for 

AN     industrial     UNIVERSITY 
FOR      THE      STATE      OP      ILLI- 
NOIS," 16;    reprint  of,  382- 
400. 
Letters    (reprints),  46,  54,   146, 
171,  218,  229-36,  430,  433-4. 
Memorials  by,  50-2. 
Turner      manuscripts,       (reprints) 
357-62,  430-7,  485-91,  599-615. 
Turner,  Oakes,  15,  34,  378. 

U 

Union  agricultural  society,  10. 

Union  Agriculturist  and  West- 
ern Prairie  Farmer,  11. 

United  State  agricultural  society, 
116. 

Upper  Alton,  67. 

Upstone,  Mr.,  321. 

Urbana,  80,  166,  261,  see  also 
Champaign. 

Urbana-Champaign  Institute,  193, 
197,  242,  267,  278;  incorpo- 
rated 202;  history  of,  199-210; 
proposed  sale  of,  213-14;  re- 
print of  act  to  incorporate, 
466-8. 

Urbana,  "Our  Constitution," 
197-8. 


Vandalia,  165. 

Van   Epp,   William    H.,    183,    188, 

193,  472,  476. 
Van  Osdell,  John  M,,  338,  346, 
Varney,  L.  B.,  465. 
Veterinary  science,  326. 
Vickroy,  Mr.,  321,  332. 
Vincennes,    land    district    of,    159. 

W 

Wabash  Valley  Times,  215. 
Wade,  Mr.,  123,  125-6. 
Wadsworth,  James  S.,  4. 


Index 


631 


Warder,  John   A.,    320,   322,    325, 

332,  355. 
Warder,  Robert,  355. 
Ware,    Ealph,    15,    152,    378,    379, 

380 ;    portrait,  facing  p.  149. 
Washburn,  Elihu  B.,  54,  244. 
Washington  County,   173. 
Waters,  Samuel,  465. 
Watt,  Ahio,  89. 
Waverly,  132. 
Webber,  T.  E.,  206,  465. 
Weber,  John  B.,  169. 
Wentworth,  John,  83,  100. 
Weston,  Lewis  W.,  49,  50,  169,  379. 
Whitmer,  P.,  488. 
^Tiittlesey  J.  H.,  289,  290. 
Wight,  J.  Ambrose,  145. 
Wike,  Scott,  208. 
Wilder,  Marshall  P.,  8. 


Wilkins,  Daniel,  254. 
Wilkinson,  Senator,   124. 
Williams,  Joseph  R.,  9,  98. 
Williams,  R.  E.,  248. 
Wilson,  Joseph,  Jr.,  465. 
Wines,  Dr.  Fred,  273. 
Woods,  John,  381. 
Woodworth,  A.  O.,  465. 
Wright,   James  S.,   199,  202,  458, 

465,  466. 
Wright,  John,  78. 


Yale,  industrial  education  at,  6,  14. 
Yates,  Richard,  39,  62,  80,  92,  100, 

178,   187,   188,    189,   192,   299, 

468. 


;!   I 


